New coronavirus cases drop in Suffolk as Rishi Sunak warns public not to expect a 'normal' Christmas

Suffolk is among the areas in England with the lowest rate of coronavirus infections, with the number of new cases having fallen in all but one area of the county.

The latest figures, which show the number of cases recorded in the seven days up until Monday, revealed that there were 643 people in the county who tested positive for the virus.

Numbers fell by more than 10 per cent in West Suffolk, where 107 new cases were recorded.

Rates have also dropped in Mid Suffolk, where cases reduced by almost 20 per cent to just 61.

New cases in Babergh and Ipswich have dropped by almost 10 per cent, with the districts having recorded 130 cases and 125 cases respectively.

But the number of cases in East Suffolk rose by more than 20 per cent to 220 last week.

It comes after two schools in and around Lowestoft closed earlier in the month due to a staff member testing positive for Covid-19.

Because of the time lag of releasing the data, virus rates could be different by now.

But despite a fall in cases, chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned the public not to expect a 'normal' Christmas.

Boris Johnson, the prime minister, is expected to lay out his winter Covid plan in the House of Commons tomorrow, during which he will set out the restrictions which will replace lockdown and how people can expect to spend the Christmas period.

“I think, frustrating as it is for all of us, Christmas is not going to be normal this year,” Mr Sunak told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday.

“But that said, the Prime Minister and everyone else, we’re looking at ways to see how families can spend some time with each other over (the) Christmas period.

“Obviously that’s something that we would like to do and it’s been a difficult year for all of us, but as I said it’s not going to be a normal Christmas this year.”

England is due to come out of lockdown in just over a week and a tier system is expected to be re-introduced to prevent a sudden rise in cases.

Mr Sunak said the Government was looking to alter the 10pm curfew in pubs and restaurants.

Read more: All the latest news from Suffolk

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