The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in North Somerset is going down slightly, but council leaders are urging people to continue following the Government’s advice.

Cases rose to 20.5 per 100,000 people earlier this month – giving North Somerset the highest rate in the South West.

North Somerset Council called on everyone to do their bit to help prevent the spread of the infection and reverse the rise as quickly as possible.

The rate of Covid-19 cases has now dropped slightly to 16.7 per 100,000, compared to a 10.7 average for the South West.

Younger age groups accounted for the vast majority of new cases, but over the past week, there has been an increase in the number of older adults testing positive for the infection and the authority is urging people to help prevent the virus from spreading to more vulnerable members of the community.

The rate of infection among 17-21 year olds has also been higher in North Somerset than elsewhere in the region.

A council spokesman said: “Our relative position among all local authorities has improved over the past week with us now being outside the top 100 councils (out of a total of 352 where 1 is highest) from a position of being between 70 and 100 on the list at the start of this week.

“However, we’re still seeing new cases being reported and the council, alongside partners like Public Health England and the NHS, is providing support to different settings experiencing the impact of Covid-19 cases, particularly schools and care homes.

“We also recognise the frustration and worry when local people cannot quickly access testing and results and how that affects the individual and the home and/or employer they are connected to.

“It also limits our ability to understand the true spread of the virus in our local community and this led the leader of the council to write to the Secretary of State earlier this week to lobby for rapid improvements in the testing system.

“We look forward to hearing more about the proposed prioritisation of tests and how this will benefit our local residents.”

The council will be sharing the latest case data on its website and social media channels every Friday.