The county's director of public health this week urged people to stay at home and warned Oxfordshire was in the 'eye of the storm' over Covid infections.

This rise can be seen in the government's graph of Oxfordshire cases by specimen date.

New coronavirus cases peaked on December 29, when 900 people tested on the day ended up with a positive result.

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The graph also shows, however, that cases are now dropping and in recent days have fallen below 500 new cases.

Witney Gazette: Oxfordshire Covid cases by specimen date. Picture: Public Health EnglandOxfordshire Covid cases by specimen date. Picture: Public Health England

The worst hit area of Oxfordshire has been Cherwell and a similar downturn in cases can also be seen in most recent figures for that area.

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A heat map by Public Health England, meanwhile, shows the spread of Covid cases in the county by age group. 

It reveals high rates of infection can be seen across all age groups.

Witney Gazette:

The dark purple among the over 80s a particular concern as this is likelyto translate into hospital admissions and deaths in the days and weeks to come despite cases now falling.

The troubling situation at the county's major hospital trust can be seen in the graph below.

It shows the weekly change in Covid patients being treated at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) from the beginning of October through to the most recent figures, accurate as of Tuesday, January 12.

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There are currently 284 people with a positive Covid test being treated at the hospital trust, which runs the John Radcliffe, including 35 patients on ventilation.

The numbers of deaths recorded at the trust can also be seen in the graph below.

There have now been 310 Covid fatalities at OUH, with the majority in April, when more than 100 patients died.

But there are worrying signs in the most recent figures with January already at 58 deaths recorded despite only covering to the January 13, the latest data available from NHS England.

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