Sunderland's Director of Public Health, Gerry Taylor, has said that Covid-19 case rates in the city are slowly reducing but confirmed that Sunderland still has ‘many more cases’ than many other places in the region. In comparison to other local authorities across the North East, Sunderland’s case rate remains among the highest in the region. Accoridng to the latest Government figures, Sunderland’s weekly case rate is 203.8 per 100,000 people, with the total number of cases recorded in seven days up to February 14 standing at 566. That means the city has this second highest rate of Covid-19 cases in the North East, with Middlesborough having the highest case rate at 290.1 per 100,000 people. However, Middlesborough’s total number of cases in seven days to February 14, is lower than Sunderland’s for the same period, standing at 409. Gerry Taylor, Executive Director of Public Health and Integrated Commissioning at Sunderland City Council said: “Rates are reducing slowly, but they are reducing. "So, thank you, for all that you've been doing to bring this virus, under control – it is starting to work, we just need to keep going and make sure we’re all following all of the guidance, all of the time.” Gerry added that residents who have been added to the shielding list and advised to stay at home following a change in Government guidance this week, could expect a letter from the Government advising them of this as well as a call from the council to make sure that they have the support they need. She said: "We know this might be a challenging time, so we will be making calls to all residents newly added to the clinically extremely vulnerable list to talk through what support might be available to help you and we can help you register on the Government’s service. “I would just like to end by saying a huge thank you for everything you are doing. "The hard work is beginning to result in fewer people with this dreadful disease but we still have many more cases than we would like to and have more cases than many other places in the region.” Noth East coronavirus case rates Middlesbrough – 290.1 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 409) Sunderland – 203.8 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 566) Redcar and Cleveland – 198.3 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 272) Stockton-on-Tees – 197.1 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 389) Darlington – 193.8 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 207) North Tyneside – 161.6 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 336) County Durham – 158.7 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 841) Hartlepool - 152.7 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 143) South Tyneside – 135.8 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 205) Gateshead – - 117.3 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 237) Northumberland – 115.7 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 373) Newcastle – 109 per 100,000 people (Total number of cases - 330) (Data for the seven days to February 14, the most recent five days has been excluded for accuracy) You can subscribe to this website and enjoy unlimited access to local news, information and puzzles online. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Simply click ‘Subscribe’ in the menu.