Covid cases: Fresh 'wake up call' as rates jump in Wyre, Fylde and Blackpool

Lancashire County Council's public health boss has called on residents to “wake up” and take the basic precautions needed to help stem a steep rise in Covid cases.
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Dr. Sakthi Karunanithi made the appeal as the latest figures show that cases across the county’s 14 council areas increased by an average of 20 percent in the space of a week, according to analysis of government data by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Wyre had the highest overall case rate in the week to 15th October, rising by 38 percent compared to the seven-day rolling figure for the district a week earlier. Blackpool was fourth on the same measure, with its case numbers up by 18 percent, while in Fylde confirmed infections went up by 30 percent.

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Lancashire as a whole recorded 7,157 positive tests over that period, the latest date for which validated statistics are available.

Dr. Sakthi Karunanithi has issued a clarion call over rising Covid case ratesDr. Sakthi Karunanithi has issued a clarion call over rising Covid case rates
Dr. Sakthi Karunanithi has issued a clarion call over rising Covid case rates

In the majority of districts Lancashire-wide, case rates were highest in the 10-14-year-old age group, exceeding 2,000 cases per 100,000 of that section of the population in four areas, including Wyre. The rate was above 1,000 in Fylde and Blackpool.

Fylde was also one of only three districts where the case rate was over 1,000 per 100,000 in the 15-19-year-old bracket as well.

The Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council areas both exceeded the England case rate average of 447.9 in the week to 15th October, at 486.2 and 535.5 respectively.

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Against that backdrop Dr. Karunanithi, who is responsible for public health in Wyre and Fylde, urged residents with an outstanding invite for a booster vaccine - or even a first or second jab - to take it up as soon as possible.

However, he warned that jabs alone would not be sufficient preparation for what he predicted will be a “difficult winter” ahead.

Dr. Karunanithi was speaking just before the health secretary, Sajid Javid, announced at a Downing Street briefing on Wednesday afternoon that the government would not yet be enacting its “plan B” for tackling the pandemic, in spite of warning that Covid cases nationally could hit 100,000 per day.

Plan B would see the introduction of vaccine passports for entry to certain settings, the reintroduction of mandatory mask wearing in others and a return to the recommendation for people to work from home where possible.

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However, Mr. Javid did reveal that the government had done a deal to purchase 480,000 courses of a drug being trialled at the Royal Preston Hospital, which it is hoped could become the first oral antiviral treatment for Covid.

The hospital is still seeking volunteers who have very recently been diagnosed with the virus to test the tablet “molnupiravir” as part of a nationwide study into the drug’s effectiveness.

Dr. Dennis Hadjiyiannakis, medical director for the Lancashire Clinical Research Facility, held out the prospect earlier this month that it could be the route back to “normal life” after the pandemic. It will require regulatory approval before it can be prescribed, but Mr. Javid said if and when that was received, the NHS would be able to deploy it to the “priority groups...that are most at risk”, including the immunosuppressed.

In the meantime, however, Dr. Karunanithi said that while it was understandable that people would be keen to “get back to normality” after so long living with Covid, there was a need for caution as case rates continue to rise.

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"Unfortunately, in Lancashire we currently have very high levels of infection across all of our districts – and it is increasing. This has mainly been in our younger population, causing further disruption to education - but now we are seeing this increase in our 60+ population.

"The NHS is reporting an increase in Covid-19 cases, with hospitals also having to manage a plethora of other issues as it approaches the difficult winter period.

"All of this paints a worrying picture, and it is critical that we approach the coming weeks and months with caution.

"Getting vaccinated is still the best thing people can do to protect themselves, and I strongly encourage anyone who is eligible for a first, second or booster vaccination to get it without delay.

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"Vaccinations alone are not enough at this current moment, however, which is why every one of us needs to take personal responsibility by following the national Covid-19 advice.

"That means regular hand washing, wearing face masks in enclosed spaces where you come into contact with people you don’t usually meet and continuing to test regularly. It also means doing the right thing and self-isolating when you test positive for Covid-19.

"It is vitally important that we wake up and take this collective action now – or risk the current situation spiralling out of control," Dr. Karunanithi added.

Across the four NHS trusts wholly located within Lancashire, there were 136 people in hospital with Covid on 12th October, the most recent date for which data is available - 22 of whom were being cared for by Blackpool Teaching Hospitals. Those figures are far below the peaks seen during Lancashire's third Covid wave last winter.

LANCASHIRE'S BOOSTER BOOST

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It has been revealed that 150,000 people across Lancashire and South Cumbria have so far had a Covid booster jab - and health bosses believe that the majority of those eligible in the region will have received an invite for theirs by the end of the year.

Health secretary Sajid Javid told a Downing Street briefing on Wednesday that booster vaccines “could not be more important”.

The over-50s, clinically vulnerable, frontline health and social care staff, and over-16s who are either caring for someone at high risk from Covid or living with someone who is vulnerable to infections are all eligible for a booster - once six months have elapsed since their second vaccine.

Nationally, just over four million of around nine million people currently eligible have received the top-up jab.

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Jane Scattergood, senior responsible officer for the Lancashire and South Cumbria Vaccination Programme, said: “Demand for the booster has been extremely high, and as soon as eligible people are getting their booster invites they are finding a venue handy for them and booking straight in.

“It means we’re getting through thousands of boosters a day. And coupled with the annual flu vaccination programme in full swing and first and second Covid-19 doses, that’s a lot of jabs.

“With Covid-19 still spreading in our communities, and other winter bugs including flu beginning to circulate, we are making sure that our most vulnerable citizens are protected,” Ms. Scattergood added.

Invites are being sent out to those due a booster, although the health secretary said that people in an eligible category who have not been contacted six months after their second vaccine should come forward.

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To book a booster, available at a range of sites across the county, Lancashire residents should visit nhs.uk/book-covid-booster or phone 119.

Meanwhile, across England, just 15 percent of 12-15-year-olds have so far received the single jab that they began to be offered last month.

LANCASHIRE'S COVID CASES AND RATES

In the week to 15th October, this is how many Covid cases were identified per council area, followed, in brackets, by the case rate per 100,000 people and the percentage change in that measure compared to the previous rolling seven-day period.

BLACKBURN WITH DARWEN - 410 (299.9, up 12.2 percent)

BLACKPOOL - 741 (535.5, up 18.4 percent)

BURNLEY - 293 (327.9, up 8.5 percent)

CHORLEY - 777 (653.7, up 19.4 percent)

FYLDE - 375 (461.8, up 30.7 percent)

HYNDBURN - 318 (391.9, up 12.8 percent)

LANCASTER - 576 (388.9, up 3.2 percent)

PENDLE - 339 (367.9, up 13.4 percent)

PRESTON - 638 (442.6, up 40.5 percent)

RIBBLE VALLEY - 335 (540.1, up 6.0 percent)

ROSSENDALE - 328 (459.2, up 12.7 percent)

SOUTH RIBBLE - 631 (568.0, up 41.5 percent)

WEST LANCASHIRE - 545 (476.0, up 25.3 percent)

WYRE - 811 (717.3, up 38.2 percent)

Source: coronavirus.data.gov.uk