COVID-19 cases for our area surge above England's average

At the time of publishing, St Albans had 534 coronavirus confirmed cases between December 12 and December 18, up from 194 the week before.

There are 360 cases per 100,000 people across the district, totalling 3,041 cases as of December 22, compared to 131 cases per 100,000 totalling 2,388 cases last week (as of December 14).

St Albans’ statistics have now surged above England’s average, which currently stands at 223 cases per 100,000 people.

This follows Saturday's announcement by the Prime Minister that the entirety of Hertfordshire, as well as Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes and all boroughs of London, would enter Tier 4 with an accompanied 'Stay at Home' order for residents living in these areas.

RELATED STORY: COVID-19 restrictions tighten over Christmas as county enters Tier 4

St Albans’ coronavirus death toll now stands at 168 registered to December 11.

READ MORE: What Tier 4 restrictions mean for Hertfordshire residents

The UK’s R-number, which represents the rate of transmission, now sits at between 1.1 and 1.2.

The R number represents the average number of people an infected person will pass the disease on to.

If R is below one, then the number of people contracting the disease will fall; if it is above one, the number will grow.

The government has previously said that the R number is one of the most important factors in making policy decisions.