Milton Keynes is now among worst 10 per cent of England's Covid hotspots

Throughout the first peak of the pandemic in Spring and early summer, MK had one of the lowest infection rates in England, remaining firmly in the bottom third of the list of affected local authorities.

But the second wave and the mutated strain has seen local cases spiral dramatically over the past few weeks.

Over the six days between Wednesday December 23 and yesterday (Sunday December 28), there were 1,570 new Covid cases identified in Milton Keynes. Thus has brought the infection rate up to more than 866 cases per 100,000 of the population.

By comparison, the case rates in neighbouring Luton and Bedford are both still in the 500s.

Happily no more Covid-linked deaths have been recorded in MK over the Christmas period and the city's total death toll remains at 245. There have been 8,995 local cases since the start of the pandemic.

But MK hospital is currently coping with 40 per cent more Covid patients than it had when the first wave of the crisis reached a peak in April. The latest government figures show an average of 20 new Covid patients a day are being admitted. Over the Christmas period there were 131 in the hospital, with four of them on ventilation.