It's now just over two years since the first confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK, and councillors at Staffordshire County Council have received an update from health officials on the status of the pandemic within the county.

They heard that the number of cases remains high, but appears to have reached a plateau.

Earlier this month, authorities declared a major emergency over the virus.

At the time, case rates in Staffordshire had risen to a record 1,700 people in every 100,000.

Now, the latest figures show the infection rate has dropped to 977.5 per 100,000 in the seven days up to the 27th January.

Although this is higher than the national rate for England (966.1) it's below the average for the West Midlands region (1000.8).

Infection rates are highest in Stoke-on-Trent, where the figures reveal there are 1126.6 cases per 100,000 people.

Cases are also above 1% of the population in Tamworth, East Staffordshire and Stafford.

The lowest rates in Staffordshire are in the Staffordshire Moorlands, where there are 786.4 cases per 100,000 people.

The legal requirement for people to isolate if they have Covid-19 is due to come to an end on 24th March.

Health officials are concerned about a large number of re-infections, and believe that some measures will need to stay in place to prevent the spread of the virus – particularly in health and care settings.

Meanwhile, they reported there is now a good supply of lateral flow tests.

They added that the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 seems to have peaked, with the amount of occupied hospital beds beginning to fall.

In further positive news, there are now fewer total deaths in the county when measured against the previous four-year average.

The vaccination programme continued at pace throughout Christmas, and health officials are still seeing people come forward to have their jab.

Emily Doorbar, the county's lead on Covid-19 defences, said: "Although some of the numbers may appear to be small – especially on those booster categories – those are of the younger age group and may not be eligible [for a booster jab] as yet."

Less than half of people aged 18-34 have received their booster dose in Staffordshire, but nearly three quarters of people in that age group have received two doses.

Ms Doorbar said: "During high case rates, there is a delay following a positive result of Covid of 28 days, in which the [person] must wait before they can seek their vaccination.

"So, although some of those rates may appear to be quite low there's nothing concerning at this point."

At the other end of the scale, more than 90% of people in Staffordshire aged over 65 have been fully vaccinated and boosted.

That figure is over 80% for those aged 50 or older.

Staffordshire County Council's director for health and care, Dr Richard Harling said: "The number of Covid-19 cases in Staffordshire remains high, with around 10,000 new cases in the last seven days."

He acknowledged that restrictions are being eased nationally, but cautioned that the virus is still circulating within communities.

"The NHS and social care services remain under considerable pressure," he said.

Residents are being asked to remain cautious and take sensible precautions to limit the spread of the virus.

That includes getting a vaccine, testing regularly and considering wearing face covering and social distancing in crowded places.

Dr Harling said lateral flow tests were available at a number of locations.

"We can look forward to the end of the pandemic in the spring, but for now it is important to take sensible steps to limit the spread of the virus."