See how quickly Windsor & Maidenhead's 'worrying' Covid infection rate has risen

[Cookham v Coronavirus]

The rate was at 23.8 cases per 100,000 people at the beginning of October, but in the two weeks that have followed it has sky-rocketed

"Worrying and alarming". The two words used by a council leader to describe the number of coronavirus cases of Berkshire's worst infected area.

Tory Andrew Johnson has spent a week forewarning Windsor and Maidenhead's 150,000 population that they could be banned from seeing their loved ones indoors unless "people bending the rules" start following the guideliness.


The affluent borough's coronavirus infection rate was at 23.8 cases per 100,000 on the first day of October. But in the 15 days that have followed, it has soared to a high of 123.5 and with the prospect of the area being placed in Tier 2 seemingly more than likely to become a reality, with the current rate higher than some "high risk" London and Essex boroughs.

Just last week, Cllr Johnson bluntly laid the blame for the borough's alarming rise at the foot of his own constituents saying "the problem is being driven by people who should know better".

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead leader even said there was evidence of parents sending their children to school after they have tested positive for the virus.

The problem is being driven by people who should know better, people who think the rules don't apply to them, people who think the problem is everyone else and people who think their routine or needs are more important than everyone else's safety and livelihoods," he said.

Yet it appears Cllr Johnson's outburst has fallen on deaf ears, and the council is now in discussions about moving the borough alongside London into the "high risk" alert of Boris Johnson's three-tier coronavirus system.

The council's statement on its Facebook page on Friday about the possibility of moving into Tier 2 was met by some with the same animosity with some calling councillors "gutless" and not being "fit for purpose", with one person calling for the council to be "criminally charged for fear mongering".


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But what does the data show?

BerkshireLive looked at the infection rate figures from the beginning of October to see how quickly it has risen. In the three days from October 2 to October 5, it had more than doubled from 26.4 to 60.1.

On October 11 the borough hit an unwanted first in Berkshire when the rate reached above 100 where it has stayed ever since.