Last November, Norfolk was in a month-long national lockdown in a bid to protect the NHS from a possible surge in Covid patients.

There is no discussion of a new lockdown being introduced this year, despite the number of positive Covid cases being far higher this autumn compared to last.

On October 31 last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the month-long national lockdown, which would start on November 5.

But with Norfolk experiencing higher rates of positive Covid cases, how does the situation compare with this time a year ago? We have looked at the data:

What is the difference in Norfolk's infection rate?

The overall infection rate in Norfolk was 121.4 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days up to November 18 last year with 566 new cases recorded.

The national average at this time was 239.9 per 100,000 people, with every district in Norfolk beneath this figure.

The rise in cases was beginning to plateau in Norfolk however, after a surge in the previous weeks.

By Christmas time, cases in Norfolk would reach a record high and would see Norfolk placed in lockdown-style Tier 4 measures from Boxing Day.

Last autumn and winter's positive case figures seem less worrisome when compared to this year's figures.

In the seven days leading up to November 18 this year, the rate is double that of last year with the overall infection rate in Norfolk being 343.6 per 100,000 people. However, it's worth noting that more tests are likely to have been carried out this year than last.

A total of 3,141 positive cases were recorded in the seven days.

How many people are in hospital?

At this point last year, hospitals in Norfolk were treating patients throughout the lockdown despite a fall in cases.

By November 16, 2020, the number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in Norfolk hospitals was at 164.

The number of patients being treated in the county's hospitals continued to rise over the Christmas period, reaching a peak of 739 patients in mid-January.

On January 22, 2021, it was reported Norfolk's hospitals had seen it's first fall in patients in hospital since September 2020 with the number falling to 716.

The hospital numbers this Autumn are much lower than this time last year, with less than half the number of admissions.

As of November 16, 2021, the county's hospitals were attending to only 77 patients.

How many people are dying with Covid?

The were 22 deaths in Norfolk attributed to Covid in the seven days up to November 23, 2020.

The death toll started to rise towards the middle of November but surged amid the start of the third lockdown in January.

This year, there have been seven deaths recorded in the seven days up to November 23 but there has been no significant rise in deaths in the past weeks.

How many people have had the vaccine?

The vaccine rollout begin on December 9, 2020, with 87-year-old Malcom Metcalf being one of the first to get the vaccine in Norfolk on rollout day.

This autumn saw the rollout of booster jabs for those most vulnerable to Covid and as of November 9, over 50pc of those eligible received their third dose.

According to the most recent data, 726,968 people have received their first dose of the vaccine and 672,377 have received their second.

What are the latest developments in Norfolk?

Since the vaccine drive began last December the county has continued with its vaccination drive, with the region expecting to reach 1 million Covid jabs this week.

Norfolk's director of public health, Louise Smith, has said she is "cautiously optimistic" that people in the county can enjoy a normal Christmas.

Despite Norwich's Christmas lights switch-on being cancelled again this year, Dr Smith said that office parties and family get-togethers should be able to go ahead - although she urged people to take tests beforehand and consider limiting the size of events.