Covid cases continue to rise sharply across Devon, with almost 15,000 infections recorded in the latest figures.

Government data for the week to March 17 shows the rates in the Devon County Council area rose by 60 per cent.

It means Devon remains well above the national Covid rate, despite infections going up across the board. The UK average is 851 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 1,219 in the county council area.

At a district level, the South Hams recorded a rise of over 75 per cent.

There is a rate of over 1,000 cases per 100,000

The rise in cases has continued since all Covid restrictions ended in England at the end of February, including the legal requirement to self-isolate with the virus. Free mass testing will also stop from April 1.

However, Devon County Council leader John Hart is still urging people to be careful and protect others.

He said: “I would urge everybody – if you’re ill, stay home, because I think you should. I think you shouldn’t have the opportunity of spreading it even though it may be less virulent.

“It’s less virulent for some people [but] other people are ill with it, still ill with it, so I think you have to be careful.”

As of the most recent government data from Tuesday March 15, there were 277 patients with Covid in Devon’s hospitals, an increase of 60 from a week ago.

Of the total, four people were in intensive care with covid.

However, late last week NHS Devon revealed the hospital figure had since risen to 292, higher than at any other point during the pandemic, with a further 37 patients awaiting test results.

17 more people died in the county within 28 days of testing positive for Covid in the latest complete weekly period (up to Wednesday March 16). Eleven were in the Devon County Council area.

A total of 1,680 people in Devon have died within 28 days of a positive test since the pandemic began (as of March 20).

Those who have received their booster (third) Covid vaccination is 72 per cent in the Devon County Council area.

Take-up for at least one dose of a vaccine is 89 per cent in the Devon County Council area.

The proportion of people who have had two jabs is 85 per cent in Devon.

The national rates are 92, 86 and 67 per cent respectively.