COVID rates are dramatically down across the county.

Brighton and Hove saw the largest week-on-week change in Sussex – far exceeding the general downturn in cases across the country.

The rate per 100,000 population in the city went from 713 in the week leading to January 10, to 438 in the week leading to last Sunday.

That is a weekly percentage change of 39 per cent – as compared to the England average of 21 per cent.

Rates continue to fall in every other part of Sussex.

Here are the latest rates for 100,000 people and the weekly percentage change for each region.

Eastbourne: 855 (- 12 per cent)

Crawley: 700 (- 30 per cent)

Arun: 557 (- 9 per cent)

Worthing: 556 (-22 per cent)

Wealden: 533 (-18 per cent)

Adur: 503 (-21 per cent)

Hastings: 473 (-35 per cent)

England average: 471 (- 21 per cent)

Lewes: 443 (-35 per cent)

Chichester: 440 (-4 per cent)

Brighton and Hove: 438 (- 39 per cent)

Rother: 391 (-28 per cent)

Mid Sussex: 367 (-23 per cent)

Horsham: 344 (-31 per cent)

A health expert says there are several reasons to be positive as England remains under its third national lockdown.

"Lockdown is starting to work," Brighton and Hove City Council's director of public health Alistair Hill said, listing a sharp decease in the number of weekly coronavirus cases in the city and the rollout of vaccines as reasons to be optimistic

"The rate of new cases of Covid-19 in Brighton and Hove is slowing down," he said.

"In the past seven days we saw a 36 per cent reduction compared to the previous week.

"It is also good news that the NHS vaccination programme has started.

"Our oldest and most vulnerable residents, and the key workers who support and care for them, are getting their vaccinations."