Residents have been praised after it was revealed Colchester has one of the lowest rates of new Covid-19 infections in the UK.

The latest rolling seven-day figures were released on Tuesday and are for the seven days to July 11.

They are based on tests carried out in laboratories, pillar one of the Government’s testing programme, and in the wider community, known as pillar two.

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 population.

Colchester’s latest infection rate is 1, down from 3.1 in the the previous week.

The figure puts Colchester in the bottom 50 of all of the local authorities in the country with it placed 272 out of 315 councils across Britain included.

It is also the lowest rate out of local authorities in Essex, except Uttlesford, which has recorded a rate of zero for the past two weeks.

The East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Colchester Hospital, has reported no deaths since July 2.

Leader of Colchester Council Mark Cory said it was good news for the town, but now wasn’t the time to celebrate.

Mr Cory, who sits on the board of the North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “It gives us a bit of security but we must be aware the virus may return in a second wave.

“Clearly the population of Colchester have done a really good job sticking to the guidelines and doing the right thing.

“They have been supported by a very good public sector network involving the NHS, the borough council, Essex Police, charity Community360 and many other partners.

“It is a welcome relief but of course we need to be on guard going forward.”

Tendring’s rate has gone up to 3.4 infections per 100,000 people, up from 2.1 the previous week.

Neighbours Braintree have also seen a huge jump, up to 20.5 from 2.6, with the authority now having the 16th highest rate out of all local authorities.

Across the UK the rate is highest in Leicester, where it has risen from 115.1 cases per 100,000 in the seven days to July 4 to 118.2 in the seven days to July 11. It was 152.3 in the seven days to June 27.

A localised lockdown has been introduced in the city in a bid to stop the spread of the virus.

The list is based on latest Public Health England figures updated on July 14 from the Government’s coronavirus online dashboard.

Data for the most recent three days, July 12 to 14, has been excluded as it is incomplete and likely to be revised.

Here is the list in full:

Leicester 118.2 115.1

Pendle 76.6 14.2

Blackburn with Darwen 47.0 31.6

Rochdale 39.1 28.6

Herefordshire 37.0 1.6

Oadby and Wigston 35.1 31.5

Bradford 35.0 33.1

Peterborough 32.3 13.9

Kirklees 26.7 34.9

East Staffordshire 25.3 7.6

Luton 23.4 16.3

Eastbourne 23.3 8.7

Northampton 21.3 19.1

Carlisle 21.2 15.7

Kettering 20.7 15.8

Braintree 20.5 2.6

Calderdale 19.5 11.9

Oldham 17.4 22.1

Bolton 17.2 17.9

Wakefield 16.5 12.2

Nuneaton and Bedworth 15.5 5.4

Rotherham 15.5 22.3

Blaby 14.9 23.9

East Northamptonshire 14.9 9.6

Dartford 14.6 15.5

Tunbridge Wells 14.4 4.2

Charnwood 14.2 14.2

Thanet 14.1 12.7

Salford 13.8 8.3

Manchester 13.3 14.8

Harborough 13.0 15.1

Sheffield 12.9 17.7

Stoke-on-Trent 12.5 9.8

Burnley 12.4 4.5

St Albans 12.2 14.9

Rugby 11.2 8.4

Tameside 11.1 12.0

Cannock Chase 11.0 9.0

Woking 10.9 7.9

North West Leicestershire 10.8 6.9

Barnsley 10.6 22.0

Dover 10.3 15.4

Fylde 10.0 11.3

Cheshire West and Chester 10.0 12.3

Melton 9.8 15.7

Oxford 9.7 4.5

Gravesham 9.4 6.6

Ashford 8.5 26.3

Corby 8.5 0.0

Preston 8.5 9.9

Sandwell 8.2 4.0

Bedford 8.2 19.8

Leeds 8.0 6.6

Canterbury 7.9 7.3

Derby 7.8 8.6

Walsall 7.8 4.2

Eden 7.6 0.0

Tower Hamlets 7.2 1.9

South Ribble 7.2 8.1

Broxbourne 7.2 0.0

Blackpool 7.2 7.2

Folkestone and Hythe 7.1 24.9

Basildon 7.0 7.5

Newcastle-under-Lyme 7.0 10.8

Wealden 6.9 5.6

Bassetlaw 6.8 12.0

Runnymede 6.8 2.3

Lewes 6.8 3.9

Ribble Valley 6.7 8.3

Elmbridge 6.6 2.2

Wokingham 6.5 1.8

Sefton 6.5 4.7

Brentwood 6.5 5.2

Doncaster 6.4 12.2

Malvern Hills 6.4 5.1

South Holland 6.4 5.3

Wychavon 6.3 0.8

Rother 6.3 3.1

Epsom and Ewell 6.3 2.5

Birmingham 6.2 6.2

Southend-on-Sea 6.0 10.4

Trafford 5.9 5.9

Fenland 5.9 4.9

Hackney and City of London 5.9 4.5

Swindon 5.9 4.5

Tandridge 5.7 4.6

South Cambridgeshire 5.7 2.5

Welwyn Hatfield 5.7 5.7

South Oxfordshire 5.7 1.4

Aylesbury Vale 5.5 9.0

Liverpool 5.5 10.1

Slough 5.4 8.7

Hinckley and Bosworth 5.3 16.0

West Lindsey 5.3 0.0

Bexley 5.3 3.2

Tamworth 5.2 5.2

Fareham 5.2 1.7

Lincoln 5.0 4.0

Rutland 5.0 5.0

Wellingborough 5.0 7.5

Wirral 4.9 2.8

Hyndburn 4.9 2.5

Haringey 4.8 1.8

Harrow 4.8 3.2

Chesterfield 4.8 5.7

Southampton 4.7 4.4

Stratford-on-Avon 4.7 4.7

Solihull 4.7 3.7

Rochford 4.6 8.0

Central Bedfordshire 4.6 7.8

Dacorum 4.5 3.9

Selby 4.5 6.7

Crawley 4.4 8.9

Torridge 4.4 2.9

West Lancashire 4.4 3.5

Copeland 4.4 2.9

Harrogate 4.4 4.4

North Kesteven 4.3 0.0

Three Rivers 4.3 6.4

Reading 4.3 3.1

Redbridge 4.3 6.3

Hillingdon 4.3 8.5

Rushcliffe 4.2 4.2

Brent 4.2 3.0

Rossendale 4.2 0.0

South Kesteven 4.2 3.5

Chiltern 4.2 2.1

Sevenoaks 4.2 6.7

Bracknell Forest 4.1 1.6

Staffordshire Moorlands 4.1 5.1

Hounslow 4.1 4.1

Swale 4.0 4.0

Wycombe 4.0 6.3

Wandsworth 4.0 2.8

Windsor and Maidenhead 4.0 0.7

Cambridge 4.0 2.4

Amber Valley 3.9 3.2

Cheshire East 3.9 6.0

Telford and Wrekin 3.9 3.4

Worcester 3.9 3.9

Sutton 3.9 1.0

Halton 3.9 6.2

Havering 3.9 3.9

Lichfield 3.8 3.8

Hertsmere 3.8 1.9

Coventry 3.8 3.3

Stockport 3.8 8.2

Vale of White Horse 3.7 3.0

Bury 3.7 10.5

Wigan 3.7 3.1

Medway 3.6 6.5

Wyre 3.6 2.7

Broxtowe 3.5 2.6

Gosport 3.5 2.3

Thurrock 3.5 3.5

Erewash 3.5 6.1

Gateshead 3.5 1.5

Shropshire 3.4 7.8

Tendring 3.4 2.1

Surrey Heath 3.4 4.5

Lambeth 3.4 1.2

Croydon 3.4 1.3

Knowsley 3.3 16.0

Warrington 3.3 4.3

Newcastle upon Tyne 3.3 2.3

Castle Point 3.3 10.0

Lewisham 3.3 1.0

Portsmouth 3.3 1.4

High Peak 3.3 4.3

South Northamptonshire 3.2 5.4

Tewkesbury 3.2 5.4

Test Valley 3.2 1.6

Southwark 3.2 3.8

Watford 3.1 6.2

Barnet 3.1 2.8

Wolverhampton 3.1 6.1

County Durham 3.0 2.7

North Lincolnshire 2.9 2.9

Waltham Forest 2.9 5.1

Sunderland 2.9 1.1

York 2.9 3.3

South Bucks 2.9 2.9

East Lindsey 2.8 1.4

Greenwich 2.8 2.1

West Oxfordshire 2.7 1.8

Hammersmith and Fulham 2.7 3.8

South Staffordshire 2.7 0.0

South Tyneside 2.7 2.0

Kensington and Chelsea 2.6 1.3

Stockton-on-Tees 2.5 6.1

Islington 2.5 2.5

Mid Devon 2.4 0.0

North Tyneside 2.4 1.5

Merton 2.4 2.4

Nottingham 2.4 5.4

Brighton and Hove 2.4 2.8

Daventry 2.4 8.3

Barking and Dagenham 2.4 2.8

East Riding of Yorkshire 2.4 3.5

Westminster 2.3 2.7

Ealing 2.3 5.3

Forest of Dean 2.3 0.0

Exeter 2.3 0.8

Kingston upon Thames 2.3 2.8

Newham 2.3 4.5

North Hertfordshire 2.3 0.8

Milton Keynes 2.2 1.9

Wiltshire 2.2 1.6

Stafford 2.2 7.4

Dudley 2.2 2.5

Ipswich 2.2 2.2

Bristol 2.2 1.9

Hartlepool 2.1 2.1

Middlesbrough 2.1 2.8

Norwich 2.1 1.4

Horsham 2.1 2.1

Lancaster 2.1 0.7

Hart 2.1 2.1

Allerdale 2.1 4.1

Guildford 2.0 2.7

Bromsgrove 2.0 6.1

East Suffolk 2.0 1.6

Mid Sussex 2.0 1.3

Somerset West and Taunton 1.9 0.0

South Derbyshire 1.9 1.9

Plymouth 1.9 2.7

West Berkshire 1.9 0.6

Richmondshire 1.9 3.8

Darlington 1.9 0.9

Northumberland 1.9 3.4

North Somerset 1.9 1.4

Dorset 1.9 1.3

Ryedale 1.8 3.6

Worthing 1.8 1.8

Bromley 1.8 2.1

Chorley 1.7 3.4

Cheltenham 1.7 4.3

Huntingdonshire 1.7 2.3

St. Helens 1.7 3.9

East Hampshire 1.7 2.5

Chichester 1.7 0.0

Sedgemoor 1.6 4.9

Winchester 1.6 0.8

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 1.6 1.4

Ashfield 1.6 6.3

Adur 1.6 1.6

Maldon 1.6 0.0

Gloucester 1.5 1.5

Hull 1.5 3.8

Camden 1.5 0.8

Epping Forest 1.5 0.8

Eastleigh 1.5 0.8

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 1.5 0.8

Enfield 1.5 3.6

Torbay 1.5 3.7

Redcar and Cleveland 1.5 0.7

Reigate and Banstead 1.4 1.4

East Hertfordshire 1.4 2.0

Cherwell 1.3 8.0

North East Lincolnshire 1.3 1.3

Maidstone 1.2 3.5

Harlow 1.2 3.5

Mole Valley 1.1 4.6

Chelmsford 1.1 5.1

Cotswold 1.1 2.2

New Forest 1.1 1.1

Hambleton 1.1 1.1

Hastings 1.1 1.1

South Gloucestershire 1.1 1.1

Rushmoor 1.1 0.0

Bath and North East Somerset 1.0 0.0

Colchester 1.0 3.1

Richmond upon Thames 1.0 2.0

Spelthorne 1.0 5.0

North East Derbyshire 1.0 8.9

South Lakeland 1.0 2.9

North Norfolk 1.0 1.0

Gedling 0.8 2.5

Stroud 0.8 0.8

Newark and Sherwood 0.8 2.5

Waverley 0.8 3.2

Havant 0.8 0.0

Broadland 0.8 1.5

Tonbridge and Malling 0.8 2.3

Teignbridge 0.8 1.5

South Norfolk 0.7 2.2

Isle of Wight 0.7 2.1

Warwick 0.7 0.7

East Devon 0.7 4.2

King’s Lynn and West Norfolk 0.7 1.3

Arun 0.6 0.0

South Somerset 0.6 0.6

Basingstoke and Deane 0.6 1.1

West Suffolk 0.6 5.6

Babergh 0.0 0.0

Barrow-in-Furness 0.0 0.0

Great Yarmouth 0.0 0.0

North Devon 0.0 0.0

South Hams 0.0 0.0

Uttlesford 0.0 0.0

West Devon 0.0 0.0

Mansfield 0.0 0.9

Scarborough 0.0 0.9

Breckland 0.0 1.4

Mendip 0.0 1.7

Wyre Forest 0.0 2.0

Mid Suffolk 0.0 2.9

East Cambridgeshire 0.0 3.4

Stevenage 0.0 3.4

Craven 0.0 3.5

Redditch 0.0 3.5

North Warwickshire 0.0 6.2

Bolsover 0.0 7.5

Derbyshire Dales 0.0 8.3

Boston 0.0 8.6