The latest data on coronavirus in Stevenage and North Herts has shown that case rates are continuing to rise, even with new Tier 4 restrictions coming into place.

In Stevenage, the number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the seven days up to December 24 was 543, marking a total rate of 523.6 per 100,000. That's an increase of 124 cases compared to the previous week.

In total, more than 2,200 people have now tested positive for COVID-19 in the town.

For North Herts, the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 up until Christmas Eve was 510, a rate of 351.5 per 100,000. In total, 2,692 people have now tested positive for COVID-19 in North Hertfordshire.

For both Stevenage and North Herts, the average number of daily positive tests remains above 100 in both areas.

The coronavirus situation escalated quickly in Hertfordshire, as our county was under three different tiers of COVID-19 restrictions in less than a week. Until Thursday, December 17, our areas were Tier 2, or 'high alert'.

That afternoon, Matt Hancock MP revealed that we would enter Tier 3, or 'very high' restrictions from Saturday, December 19. But before that could even happen, we were informed by Boris Johnson that we were to enter a new Tier 4 from midnight on Saturday, December 19.

According to the Gov.uk website, a total of 70 people in Stevenage have sadly died with COVID-19 on their death certificate, while in North Hertfordshire, that number stands at 108.

As of December 20, there were 74 more people admitted to East and North Herts NHS Trust hospitals due to coronavirus, a rise of 76 per cent compared to the the previous week's data.

Later today, the government are set to review the coronavirus tiers across the country.