Blackpool

After Leicester, parts of Yorkshire and the north-west of England have recorded the highest rates of new coronavirus infections, according to new data.

However, all but two of the top 10 areas for rates of infection in the week ending 28 June saw a fall compared with the week before, Public Health England reported.

Leicester, however, remains far ahead of the others, with three times as many new cases per 100,000 people as Bradford.

Bedford, the only top 10 place other than Leicester not in the north, has seen its rate of new cases fall by half in a week.

The new data combines two sets of coronavirus tests - those done in hospitals and involving care workers and previously unpublished local figures on tests outside of hospitals.

BBC

A share of the millions of pounds raised by 100-year-old Captain Tom Moore in his famous walk has paid for dozens of projects to make life better for staff at patients in hospitals serving South Cumbria.

PA Media

The share, amounting to £84,000, has paid for landscaping work around the hospitals in Barrow, Lancaster and Kendal, with outdoor seating and new plants, and support for the hospital radio service to go digital.

There has also been support for access to healthcare projects with particular reference to translation and sign language provision.

The projects given money were picked from more than 90 put forward by members of staff at the Morecambe Bay trust hospitals.

Blackpool Council

There was an “amazing” number of donations received after Blackpool Tower became a lockdown collection hub.

Helen Smith, the food bank's operations manager, said: “Since the campaign began on 3 April we have received a staggering 400 – 600 items of goods donated by the public and local businesses.”

She said it had been able to provide more than 300 family parcels. The service has now ended as the tower is preparing to reopen next month.

Foodbank chairman Neil Reid added: “People really liked the idea of going to such a famous venue as Blackpool Tower. I mean you can’t really miss it

“It was great for us because they also had loads of space to store things which we didn’t have.”

BBC

A man from Dalton-in-Furness has appeared in court charged with causing the deaths of three members of the same family, who were on a Father’s Day walk.

David Logan, 47,of Broughton Road in the town, appeared before magistrates in Barrow with one arm in a sling and walking with the help of a crutch.

Family photo

The court was told the charges involved the deaths of Joshua Flynn, 37, son Coby-Jay, 15, and daughter Skylar, 12, who were "on the pavement, minding their own business".

Mr Logan was remanded in custody to appear at Preston Crown Court on 24 July.

The trust that runs the hospitals in Barrow and Lancaster serving south Cumbria says it can now start catching up on some of the routine work delayed because of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Google

As the numbers of people with coronavirus infections grew to some of the highest levels in the country, some non-urgent appointments and operations were delayed and other clinics were done in other was such as over telephone or video links.

Kate Maynard, the interim chief operating officer for the Morecambe Bay trust said that normal services would be resumed in a phased way, and doctors were now deciding which patients should now be seen urgently.

A teenager from Barrow accused of making false claims of rape and trafficking has appeared in court in Preston.

Eleanor Williams, 19, is charged with seven counts of perverting the course of justice.

She was not asked to enter a plea and was remanded in custody.

The prosecution say Miss Williams made various claims about five men, and faked text messages and social media posts about her allegations.

The teenager was told that her trial may not happen until August 2021, because of delays relating to the Coronavirus pandemic, but Judge Mark Brown said that was a "worst case scenario" and he hoped it could be brought forward, if the situation improves.

Ian Taylor /Geograph

A rare inflammatory illness linked to coronavirus has affected four children in hospitals serving south Cumbria.

The condition has been named PIMS, and is similar to Kawasaki disease, and breakthroughs in antibody testing confirmed the link to Covid-19.

PA Media

Furness General Hospital saw at least one child with the condition in April and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary treated children in March and May.

Researchers stress that it is extremely rare with about 100 cases seen UK-wide, and once diagnosed, the treatment is well-known and effective.

The Morecambe Bay Hospitals Trust says in every case here, the children didn't need intensive care treatment and recovered.

BBC Radio Cumbria understands that a number of children who were being treated in hospital in Lancaster have had to be moved to Barrow after a member of staff contracted coronavirus.

BBC

A large group of staff in the paediatrics unit of the Royal Lancaster Infirmary are having to self-isolate, leaving it unsafe to keep the unit open.

It's understood a small number of inpatients have been transferred to the Furness General Hospital, and the situation will be reviewed again next week.

Maternity staff in the hospitals covering south Cumbria say they are going to start supporting mothers who want to give birth at home again.

However, they say they are still not able to open the midwife-led maternity unit at the Westmorland General hospital in Kendal.

Katie Collins/PA Wire

Carole Carlile, who is head of midwifery at the trust, said: “If a woman would like a home birth, they should contact their midwife."

She said clinics and breastfeeding support were still normal at Helme Chase in Kendal but because so many midwives were deployed to other areas of the trust, it had to remain closed for the moment.

• Hospitals in north and west Cumbria resumed support of home births last week, and the Penrith midwife-led unit will reopen after refurbishment.