SEVEN areas of the Winchester district are now almost Covid-free.

Numbers of new cases have been generally declining except the second outbreak at the prison in Winchester West and slight increases in a couple of areas.

The seven areas now marked white on the Government map because they have had fewer than three cases in the seven days to February 18 are:

Alresford;

Springvale and Itchen Abbas;

South Wonston, Sutton Scotney and Micheldever;

Winchester North,

Oliver's Battery and Hursley;

Stanmore;

Winchester East

Over the last six days the number of reported new cases have been seven today and four, six, six, four and six. These are lowest run of numbers since September/October.

But in the Winchester West area, which includes the prison, in the seven days to February 18 there were 40 new cases, an increase of 22, a rise of 122 per cent, for a rolling week-on-week rolling rate of 401.3 per 100,000. That is among the highest in the country.

Other areas seeing an increase are Denmead and Southwick, with 10 new cases, up one, 10 per cent for a rolling rate of 97.5, also above the national average, and Whiteley, Knowle and Wickham, 15 cases, up six, (67 per cent) for a rolling 128.1 also above the national average.

In the last seven days to today there have been 51 new cases in the Winchester district, down from the previous week's 114.

The number of Winchester district cases since the start of the pandemic is now 4,699 for a rate per 100,000 people of 3,763. The district covers more than just the city but includes countryside from Micheldever to Denmead.

One person's death from Covid was reported in Winchester district today, bringing the number since the start of the pandemic to 176, a rate of 141.0 per 100,000 people. In the last seven days there have been four deaths.

On Friday Cllr Phil North, leader of Test Valley Borough Council, reported from an NHS briefing that the number of patients in Hampshire Trust hospitals was down to 95, from 135 the previous Friday. Three weeks ago the number was 245.

Monday last week the number was 124 with 68 at the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and 56 at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.