COVID-19 rates across the Dudley borough have fallen below 100 per 100,000 people in several wards – the lowest number since October last year.
The borough is now only behind Wolverhampton for the fewest cases in the Black Country and Birmingham.
The decrease means over half of Dudley’s 24 wards are below the 100 mark with both Pedmore and Stourbridge East along with Hayley Green and Cradley South reporting only five new infections in the last seven days.
Cllr Nicolas Barlow, Dudley Council's cabinet member for health and adult social care, welcoming the latest figures said: “We’re really pleased to see infection rates falling across the borough, this is thanks to the perseverance of local people in following the rules of the latest lock-down, our testing capacity, which has grown significantly in recent weeks and the roll out of the vaccine, which we’re pleased to report is still going incredibly well.
“Although it feels like the end is in sight, our figures are still higher than where we want them to be so we all need to keep doing what we’re doing to help figures decrease further and ensure we can begin our journey to normality sooner rather than later.”
Since last October, the borough has opened an additional static site to test people showing symptoms and 38 centres for lateral flow/symptom free testing.
The rest of the Black Country also saw sharp drops with Wolverhampton at 83 per 100,000, Walsall at 103, while Sandwell’s rate fell to 135 and Birmingham stands at 105.
Ward name per 100,000
Amblecote 114
Belle Vale 70
Brierley Hill 98
Brockmoor and Pensnett 131
Castle and Priory 123
Coseley East 72
Cradley and Wollescote 59
Gornal 89
Halesowen North 39
Halesowen South 81
Hayley Green and Cradley South 41
Kingswinford North and Wall Heath 58
Kingswinford South 80
Lye and Stourbridge North 222
Netherton, Woodside and St. Andrews 135
Norton 57
Pedmore and Stourbridge East 40
Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood 64
Sedgley 74
St James’s 129
St Thomas’s 196
Upper Gornal and Woodsetton 167
Wollaston and Stourbridge Town 91
Wordsley 94
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