A PRE-CHRISTMAS spike in coronavirus cases in Redditch and Bromsgrove was due to outbreaks at a prison and care homes, public health chiefs have said. Official government figures showed that on December 10, a mammoth 97 positive tests were reported in neighbouring Bromsgrove - almost twice the previous daily high of 58 back in November. Concerned residents contacted the Advertiser after noticing on the government website that cases had risen a scary 1000% that week in the Stoke Heath, Finstall and Bentley postcode area. Positive tests in the area increased from eight to 88 in the week between December 5 and 12, although case levels across the rest of Bromsgrove and neighbouring areas remained fairly stable.