Yorkshire has the biggest improvement in Covid cases in England as Leeds and Bradford are top performing areas

Measures taken by the public have improved rates of infection across Yorkshire

Data from Public Health England released this week showed cases plummeted across the region, suggesting the second national lockdown was a success.

Leeds saw a drop of 1,874 cases from the beginning of November to the end, which was the biggest drop in the whole of England.

This was followed by Bradford, where cases fell 1,641 during the national lockdown, which ended on 2 December.

At the other end of the scale, many local authorities in the south of England saw an increase in cases after the national lockdown, with cases rising by 852 in Medway, Kent.

In Yorkshire, the worst performing local authority area was Ryedale but it still saw a reduction in cases of 13, suggesting the national measures made a modest difference, even in areas that did not have high rates of the infection.

Despite the drop in cases, most of Yorkshire has remained in Tier 3 as rates in the region were still high, with Hull having 327 cases per 100,000 at the end of lockdown, higher than any other English local authority.

The three tiers are Tier 1 'medium', Tier 2 'high' and Tier 3 'very high'. York and all areas of North Yorkshire are in the 'high' Tier 2 level.

This means hospitality venues can open, but they can only serve alcohol has part of a substantial meal.

All of West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and The Humber is in the 'very high' Tier 3 category. This means the strictest restrictions are in place such as not mixing between households indoors and in private gardens, and hospitality venues will remain closed. Middlesbrough is also in Tier 3.

The government has instructed Tier 3 residents to "avoid travelling out of the area, other than where necessary such as for work, education, youth services, medical attention or because of caring responsibilities”.