A fall in the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Cambridgeshire may in part be due to “testing issues,” a public health report has said.

The rate of recorded cases in Cambridgeshire dropped in the week ending September 20, from 11 people per 100,000 the week before to 7.5, which is despite a national rise and an average rate of 42 cases for the whole of England.

The incidence rate in Peterborough dropped by half, from 27.7 per 100,000 people to 15.3.

The figures are included in the weekly Covid-19 “brief update” produced by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Public Health Intelligence Team.

The document says: “The weekly incidence per 100,000 population has decreased in all districts in the last reporting week. This is, in part, expected to be due to testing issues experienced locally, as has been the situation nationally.”

The report from the week before showed cases in the Cambridgeshire County Council area had doubled between the weeks beginning August 17 and September 7, rising steadily to 69 cases.

While in Peterborough during the same period the total number of cases had risen from 38 to 53.

Recently there have been reports of people advised to travel far out of the region to get a test, including a resident who claimed they were recommended travelling to Aberdeen to get tested. The update says: “The seven-day rolling average of confirmed cases for Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, and each of the districts, shows a declining trend in Covid-19 cases since the peaks in late April/early May, and a lower, more stable trend in recent weeks.”

In the week September 14 to 20, Cambridge recorded 8.8 cases per 100,000 people, down from 11.2 the week before.

East Cambridgeshire recorded 1.1 cases per 100,000 people in the same, down from 3.3 the week before. Fenland recorded 6.9 cases per 100,000 people, down from 11.8 the week before.

Huntingdonshire recorded 8.4 cases per 100,000 people, down from 14.6 the week before.

South Cambridgeshire recorded 9.4 cases per 100,000 people, down from 10.7 the week before.

The weekly “brief update” is produced by the Public Health Intelligence Team at Cambridgeshire County Council.