At the time of publishing, St Albans had 225 confirmed coronavirus cases between January 30 and February 5, down 82 compared with the previous week.

There are 152 cases per 100,000 people across the district, totalling 7,331 cases as of February 9. This is yet another significant drop compared to last week's figures, where 205 people per 100,000 were infected with the virus.

Cases across the district once again continue to fall, with St Albans' coronavirus cases remaining below England’s 'average area', which has 188 cases per 100,000 people.

This comes as the amount of patients in Herts hospital beds fell by almost 28 per cent, but the demand on critical care increased. Over 80 per cent of care home residents have also received their COVID-19 vaccine.

113,849 deaths have been recorded across the UK within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, as of February 8. In the last 24 hours, one person in St Albans has died with COVID-19, bringing the district's total to 279. As of January 29, 287 deaths with coronavirus on the death certificate have been recorded in St Albans.

This week, the team running COVID-19 vaccinations at Batchwood Hall launched a drive-thru initiative despite the snow and freezing temperatures. Since Batchwood commenced its vaccination programme in December 2020, it has jabbed over 10,000 people.

The UK’s R-number, which represents the rate of transmission, is between 0.7 and 1, meaning the rate of transmission is declining in areas where the R-number sits below one.

In the East of England, the R-number remains between 0.7 and 0.9.