ONE area of the town has the second highest infection rate in the county according to the latest coronavirus figures.

Malvern Link’s infection rate was 372.8 cases per 100,000 people in the week up to February 19 – just slightly lower than the rate of 374.4 cases per 100,000 people in Oakenshaw in Redditch and higher than anywhere in Worcester or Evesham.

The soaring infection rate in Malvern Link during the week means it has been included on Public Health England’s coronavirus hotspot map.

Public Health England said a total of 24 cases were recorded in Malvern Link during the week – a rise of 243 per cent compared to the previous week.

Despite fall in coronavirus case numbers across Worcestershire, Redditch has had the highest overall infection rate in the county for a number of weeks whilst the rate in Malvern Hills has comparatively been one of the lowest in the county throughout the pandemic.

The latest infection rate in Malvern Hills was 130.9 cases per 100,000 people with 103 cases recorded in the week up to February 19 – with around a quarter of all cases coming in Malvern Link.

The number of cases in Malvern Hills increased by 22 per cent compared to the previous week.

Worcestershire’s infection rate was 138.5 cases per 100,000 people in the same week with 825 cases recorded - a drop of eight per cent.

Elsewhere in the Malvern Hills district, Broadheath, Sinton and Alfrick’s infection rate was 271.8 cases per 100,000 people with a total of 20 cases recorded in the week and North Malvern’s infection rate was 219.9 cases per 100,000 people with 19 cases recorded.

Areas with infection rates between 200 and 399 cases per 100,000 people are placed in the third ‘hotspot’ category by PHE. The hotspot figures are split into several ‘middle super output areas’ which are used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and are slightly larger than postcode areas with an average population of around 7,200 people.