Fourteen new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Elmbridge last week as Surrey County Council (SCC) warned of clear increase in the number of cases across the county in recent days.

In the week August 10-August 16, a total of 74 new cases were confirmed in the county, echoing an uptick in the number of cases confirmed across the UK and new estimates that Covid-19 cases may be increasing exponentially again. 

SCC were quick to describe the increase in cases as "marginal" and said that most people were continuing to follow the latest guidelines.

Nevertheless the data showed the possibility of a number of outbreaks starting in different areas in the county including Woking, which had 20 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed.

Of all local authorities in Surrey, Elmbridge had the second highest number of cases confirmed between August 10-16, with 14 new instances of the virus.

Ruth Hutchinson, Surrey’s director of public health said that the county's overall response to the pandemic had been "fantastic" but urged residents to take the latest increase in cases seriously:

"We need to be honest with the public and now need to call on their further support in reducing the spread of the virus," Hutchinson said.

“Compared to the national picture Surrey still has relatively low numbers of Coronavirus infections. But we cannot be complacent.

"Everyone in Surrey has a role to play in slowing the spread – by getting tested if they have any symptoms, making sure they continue to socially distance, washing their hands and wearing face coverings.

"We are still a long way from a local lockdown, if we rein it in now, we can avoid this happening," she added.

Your Local Guardian: Graph via SCC shows uptick in number of Covid-19 cases in recent daysGraph via SCC shows uptick in number of Covid-19 cases in recent days

The government's current plan for tackling the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the UK is to instigate "local lockdowns" to contain pockets of the virus and stop a more generalised outbreak occurring as happened earlier this year.

However, recent information released Friday (August 21) by the government's scientific advisory group SAGE showed their estimate that the "R" rate of reproduction of the virus in the UK may already be above 1.0.

SAGE said Friday they believe the R-rate to be between 0.9 and 1.1 in the UK at present.

If the SAGE estimate for the R-rate is accurate, it means cases of coronavirus will increase exponentially or 'snowball', multiplying faster and faster as they did during March and April in the UK.

Meanwhile in Surrey at the other end of the scale to Elmbridge and Woking, some other local authorities reported very low new numbers of cases over the last week.

Epsom and Ewell, for example, confirmed less than five cases between August 10-16, while Mole Valley reported zero new cases of Covid-19 at all over the same period.