NO deaths and just seven new Covid cases have been reported in the Winchester district in the last 24 hours.

The number of cases in the district edged up to 1,790, an infection rate since March of 1,433.6 per 100,000.

There were just 122 reported across the whole Hampshire County Council area, taking the total number to 18,374 since the start of the pandemic.

Hampshire is preparing for the start of a mass vaccination programme before Christmas.

Across the Winchester district the rolling figure to December 2 is now down to 67.3 per 100,000. In Alresford is has dropped even more sharply to 35.5. For clarity ‘Winchester district’ comprises more than the built-up city and is the council area which stretches from Micheldever in the north to Southwick in the south, from Sparsholt in the west to Bramdean in the east.

In the last seven days there have only been 79 new cases in Winchester district. In the previous seven days the number was 88.

Four new deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours in the Hampshire County Council area bringing the total to 890, of those who died with 28 days of a positive test.

There were two deaths reported by NHS England in the area covered by the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which includes the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.

In Winchester City Council area the figures for deaths as of today remains at 98. In Portsmouth it is 105, up one, and 135 in Southampton, no change.

So far, at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust there have been 215 deaths, up two; 227 people have died at University Hospital Southampton, no change, whilst at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust the toll is now 297, up three. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 765 deaths in the NHS across Hampshire.

The numbers of people in hospitals is still rising as there will be a time gap before the reduced infection rates are reflected in patient numbers.

On Friday, the latest day for which figures are available, there were 175 Covid admissions at hospitals across the south-east, including Hampshire, up from 136 last Friday. On Sunday there were 1,388 Covid patients, up from 1,283 on Friday; and 105 are on ventilators, down two on Friday.

Below are the confirmed cases by local authority on December 7:

Basingstoke and Deane: 13 (2,584 in total since start of pandemic)

East Hampshire: 6 (1,587)

Eastleigh: 8 (1,723)

Fareham: 14 (1,475)

Gosport: 4 (1,150)

Hart: 9 (1,039)

Havant: 16 (1,893)

New Forest: 33 (1,946)

Portsmouth: 34 (4,679)

Rushmoor: 8 (1,622)

Southampton: 25 (4,099)

Test Valley: 4 (1,565)

Winchester: 7 (1,790)

The R number, the reproduction rate in the south-east region, has slipped to 0.9-1.1, meaning that at most ten people will infect 11 people and possibly only nine.