The South Hams is one of the local authorities least affected by the coronavirus in England, goverment statistics have revealed.

Previously the Government’s daily dashboard of coronavirus cases had only shown the number of positive cases for a region split by upper tier authority, but from yesterday they have begun publishing the data by lower tier authorities in England.

The South Hams has seen just 77 positive test results for the virus, meaning it is in the bottom 10 local authorities for number of cases, and its rate of infection, at 89.3 per 100,000 people, also ranks it in the bottom 10.

The latest figures show that in the Devon County Council region there have been 755 positive cases of coronavirus, with a further 209 in Torbay and 317 in Plymouth.

The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Devon’s hospital is 159, with ONS figures for overall deaths in 2020 related to coronavirus that occurred up to April 25 and were registered up to May 2 showing that 211 deaths were registered in Devon.