Norfolk is seeing a greater number of Covid cases reported every day than it saw in November 2020, new figures have shown.

However, while case numbers are at a higher level, the number of being admitted to hospital is considerably lower.

According to the latest figures published, November 13 saw Norfolk report 340 new cases of Covid-19, compared with 194 cases returned on the same date in 2020.

But while the case numbers may be higher, the amount of people admitted to the region's three main hospitals with the virus are more than half the level they were in 2020.

For the week ending November 14, this year, there were 10 people admitted to hospital with the virus - four at the Norfolk and Norwich, two at the James Paget and three at the Queen Elizabeth.

This is more than half the number admitted for the equivalent week in 2020, which saw 25 patients admitted with Covid across the three hospitals.

Likewise the number of being currently being treated in hospital with the virus is around half the level.

As of November 17, there were 60 patients being treated for Covid-19 across the three hospitals, compared with 113 on November 17, 2020.

However, the hospitals are coping with a larger number of patients dealing with other conditions and are faced with a smaller number of unoccupied beds.

It was around this period in 2020 that case rates began to climb, heading towards the second wave which saw greater restrictions brought in around Christmas and the country plunged back into lockdown towards the new year.

But the most pertinent difference now is the rollout of vaccines, which has seen 725,883 people in Norfolk and Waveney receive at least one dose of the jab.

And earlier this week, Prof Paul Hunter of the UEA school of medicine said he was optimistic similar measures should not be needed this Christmas.

Meanwhile, case numbers among schoolchildren have seen a slight increase, following the half-term break, with the infection rate among children aged between five and nine at 686.5 cases per 100,000 people. However, this is considerably lower than the record high of 914, seen for the week before half term.