The rate at which people are testing positive for coronavirus in Basingstoke is now higher than anywhere else in Hampshire.

The Gazette previously reported how as of the morning of May 13, the local authority has seen 640 confirmed cases of Covid-19 at a rate of 364 people per 100,000. At the time this ranked the district 26th of all local authorities in all the UK and second among Hampshire districts, behind only Rushmoor. There are a little more than 300 of these areas in the UK.

In the two weeks since, this has grown to 709 cases at rate of 403 per 100,000.

This now ranks 22nd in the UK and also is just a touch higher than the rate of Rushmoor at 402, making Basingstoke's rate the highest in the county.

The data set comes with a note to say its figures do not take into account the factors such as the different levels of testing carried out in each local authority area.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has previously said that it is difficult to say for certain why the rate in Basingstoke is so high.

ALSO: Rapid 20-minute Covid-19 test developed in Basingstoke to be trialled across Hampshire

One possibility was that its in-house Covid-19 testing was up and running "much faster than most", which has meant the hospital trust has had the ability to test more widely, and for longer.

Basingstoke MP Maria Miller echoed these thoughts.

She told the Gazette: “Basingstoke Hospital are doing a lot of Covid-19 testing, much more than many other areas in England, because their microbiologists have been working on a test that can identify whether someone has Covid-19 right from the start of the pandemic.

"Now they are leading a national programme to develop a fast, 20 minute Covid-19 test. Because of this, our local NHS has tested more people, and this data shows they are identifying more people who have Covid-19, who can then take action to self isolate and not spread the virus to others.

"This is yet another benefit of having a great, forward thinking Hospital in our community.”     

Covid-19 cases are identified by taking specimens from people and sending these specimens to laboratories around the UK to be tested. If the test is positive, this is a referred to as a lab-confirmed case. These tests are used to calculate the above figures.

In England, laboratories submit test results to PHE through the Second Generation Surveillance System. Cases received from laboratories by 12:30am are included in the counts published that day.

Confirmed positive cases are matched to ONS geographical area codes using the home postcode of the person tested. Postcodes are supplied by the laboratory information systems.