NEW figures have revealed which areas of the South Lakes have had the highest number of deaths related to coronavirus.

The Office of National Statistics has launched an interactive map which shows which areas saw the highest number of virus deaths between March 1 and May 31.

According to the data, Kendal South has seen the highest number of deaths in the town.

There have been 19 Covid-related deaths in that area over the last three months.

This includes three in May and 14 in April.

The area is level with Kendal East and Whinfell for the most deaths, with six of those coming in May.

According to the statistics, Windermere has seen 10 deaths, Ambleside six, and Hawkshead and Cartmel Fell 11.

Ulverston has the highest number of deaths in South Lakeland with 24.

However, Cumbria’s director of public health Colin Cox has moved to assure Furness residents the data does not imply these areas are hotspots for coronavirus infections.

And he added that, as lockdown eases, observing social distancing is ‘as important as ever’ to prevent new cases of COVID-19.

Mr Cox does not want people to read too much into these figures as they can be ‘very significantly skewed’ by a single care home in the area or how densely populated it is.

“We know COVID-19 kills older people at a much higher rate than anybody else, so in older areas you would expect to have a higher number of deaths,” he said.

“This is just a raw number of deaths and isn’t age-standardised or even in proportion of populations.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean there is a hotspot for community-related infections so if things are related to outbreaks in care homes, that doesn’t mean the rest of the population around it have been at any more risk.

“At this stage, it’s just a recording of what’s happened.”

His key message is for the public to remain vigilant to avoid going back into lockdown.

“The virus is still out there,” he said. “It is still circulating and it could come back.” Last month officials confirmed COVID-19 had probably claimed the lives of 145 care home residents across the county.