Watford has seen a decrease in the number of people testing positive for coronavirus, latest figures show.

Data published by the Government shows cases have steadily declined in the town and have now dropped to its lowest rate per 100,000 population since lockdown started earlier this month.

Watford had been stuck at a rate of around 160-180 cases throughout November, but the latest figures show the rate in the seven days to November 24 dropped to 120.1.

That is equal to around 116 cases being recorded in the period, the lowest since October.

The rate began to drop in the borough in the seven days to November 23, when a rate of 143.9 cases per 100,000 population was recorded.

Most areas in Hertfordshire are also seeing a drop in cases – North Hertfordshire and Stevenage have now both dropped below 100 cases per 100,000 population.

And figures show other areas are not far off this – data published shows St Albans’ case rate has now dropped to 102.4, while Dacorum has decreased to 104.7.

Before Hertfordshire was placed in Tier 2, the county’s director of public health Jim McManus told the media that the past week’s data would show how much of an impact lockdown has had on the spread of Covid-19 in Hertfordshire.

After the move to Tier 2 was confirmed, Mr McManus said on Friday: “My view would be, pessimistic though I was, that the lockdown is doing its job, I think.”

Number of new cases

In South West Hertfordshire, Watford and Hertsmere saw the largest amount of new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours at 25 each.

Dacorum and St Albans recorded 19 new cases each, while Three Rivers recorded the lowest number at nine.

It takes the total number of cases in South West Hertfordshire to 9,154 since the pandemic began.

Elsewhere in Hertfordshire, Broxbourne and East Hertfordshire recorded the highest number of new cases in 24 hours at 31, while Welwyn Hatfield recorded 21 new cases.

A total of 11 new cases were recorded in North Hertfordshire, while 10 were reported in Stevenage.

Across Hertfordshire, a total of 17,325 people have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.