Norfolk is in the early stages of a new wave of Covid-19 with one in 50 people currently estimated to be infected with the virus, the county's director of public health has said.

But Dr Louise Smith has reassured people that the wave will be "nowhere near" the levels seen at the pandemic's peak and infections are "far less severe".

It is estimated that around one in every 50 people in the county have some form of Covid at the moment, although changes in the availability of testing may mean fewer cases are going detected.

The region's health and care sector is also seeing a five per cent staff absence rate due to people self-isolating after testing positive.

However, Dr Smith said that the success of the vaccine programme in the region has meant people are getting far less ill when they are infected meaning the likelihood restrictions will be needed to cope is slim.

She said: "I am not involved in any conversations about restrictions at the moment. While we are seeing the numbers increasing, they are nowhere near the numbers we were seeing earlier on in the pandemic.

"The numbers are not rising as fast and our expectation is that they will peak at a much lower level. If all that remains the same, I am not seeing anything that suggests we may need to have restrictions."

Currently, the region's three main hospitals are caring for 139 people with Covid - three of whom are receiving intensive care.

She said the increase in cases was among "the general population", rather than there being any specific demographic proving more prone to infection than others.

This, she said, was a natural pattern of the virus itself, which goes through peaks and troughs, with waves getting less significant with each one.

Dr Smith said: "What we expect to see is it eventually reach a point where the virus is seasonal, life flu.

She added that autumn would see a renewed push for people to get vaccinated, which would be mainly aimed at elderly and clinically vulnerable people.

She said: "There are still plenty of things people can do to reduce their risk of infection - we still would urge people to have good hand hygiene, keep their homes ventilated and come forward for vaccination."