Newly released data from Public Health England, as reported by The Mail on page two, show that Barrow has the highest rate of coronavirus infections per 100,000 people.

In total, 540 people in the borough have tested positive for coronavirus, a rate of 804.3 per 100,000 - more than 50 per cent higher than anywhere else in the country.

At this point, any attempt to find reason in the figures would be speculation, and any number of explanations are plausible - Barrow has an ageing population, the local health trust has been much more proactive in testing than others, or perhaps Barrovians just have worse luck.

The only thing that residents can be certain of, however, is how to drive the number of infections down.

This should hammer home to people that the Government's lockdown guidelines are no joke - they are there to save lives.

However, it is worth noting that there are signs that the 'worst case scenario' which health chiefs planned for in the region has not come to pass.

For instance, the coronavirus recovery facility at Furness General Hospital has yet to see its first patient, indicating the local NHS is working marvellously and within capacity.

This is a credit to the brave women and men who staff the frontline fight against coronavirus in our hospitals.