Milton Keynes' Covid infection rate is stabilising at last, says council leader

The official rate, according to government figures is no 141 cases per 100,000 people. This compare to 197 per 100,000 population just a week ago.

At the start of second lockdown, on November 5, the city's infection rate was just 108. And the increase was one of the greatest in the country, said MK Council leader Pete Marland.

The rise in cases was across every age group and was "extremely concerning", he said at the time.

"While other places in our region are starting to plateau or fall, we are not seeing that here. The number of people in hospital is also increasing."

But today the news is brighter, said Pete.

"Our figure is now stabilising and I'd like to thank you for all that you've done. We've all had to make, and continue to make, sacrifices to our every day lives."

But he warned: "Our rate can rise as well as fall and we want to avoid the severe restrictions of tier 3. We need to get our number of cases going down and keep them down."

Pete has urged people to stick to the tier 2 rules. "I appreciate there are many things we'd all like to be doing with family and firends right now but that's not possible and it's really tough...News about a vaccine is positive but the impact of that is still a little way off."