Expert shines light on lutes
THE next lecture in a series of online talks by the Arts Society Dove Valley will take place on Wednesday next week.
Adam Busiakiewicz will give a virtual talk from 2.15pm on “The Queen of Instruments: The Lute”.
His talk will look at the lute, and other musical instruments and as part of this lecture, Adam will be playing the lute.
Mr Busiakiewicz is an art historian and is currently pursuing his doctor- ate in Art History at Warwick University, having completed his Masters in Fine and Decorative Art at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
Adam lectures at the National Gallery and Wallace Collection and has given talks and performances at the Royal Collection, V&A and Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
To find out more, or for instructions on how to join the lecture for free, email andrew@ bownes.uk.net
The group normally meets in Ashbourne Town Hall on the second Wednesday of each month. To find out more, visit artssocietydovevalley.weebly. com
ASHBOURNE has seen a slight rise in new coronavirus cases in the seven days, for the first time in weeks.
As the overall rate of new infections falls across the country, in the Midlands - along with parts of the North - remain among a few hotspots.
And while the all-important “rolling rate” for Derbyshire Dales, which measures the number of cases per 100,000 population, continues to fall, the Ashbourne area is among a handful where rates appear to be creeping up.
The small, urban Ashbourne South ward saw two new cases in the last recorded seven-day period, and the cumulative effect brings our rolling rate up to 80.6, higher than the 53.7 we reported last week.
In Ashbourne North, while we have seen a slight drop in the number of cases, the rolling rate remains at 83.2 which is only just below the national average.
The Doveridge, Brailsford and Bradley Ward had dipped below a rolling rate of 50 last week, but in the last seven-day period, 11 new cases represented a rise of 175% - and this has sent the rolling rate surging back up to 135.1.
The northern ward of Bakewell South, Youlgreave and Taddington, which encompasses Hartington and Parsley Hay, saw no change in the number of new cases, but its rolling rate remains relatively high at 129.2.
Elsewhere there is good news, with other surrounding wards showing a downward trend. The wards of Duffield, Quarndon and Kirk Langley; Ashbourne North, Dovedale and Carsington; and Mayfield,
Rocester and Bramshall have all seen a fall in the number of new cases.
And two neighbouring wards – Ambergate, Heage and Idridgehay; and Ipstones, Warslow and Hamps Valley, saw fewer than three new cases - so their data was not published.
Derbyshire’s overall rolling rate has once again fallen this week, down to 125.7 compared to 161.6 last week.
This is starting to be reflected in the number of Covid-19 inpatients in the county’s hospitals. The number of patients in Derby, Chesterfield and Burton has fallen from more than 700 to around 200 in five weeks.
The level of Covid-19 inpatients in our hospitals is now less than third of its January peak and below the levels they saw during the first wave last April.
There are currently 213 Covid-19 patients in our hospitals, which is still a highly significant number placing pressure on our NHS and preventing patients who have been made to wait for care to gain access to treatment.
Over the summer, our hospitals were often free of all Covid-19 patients.
As of March 1, Royal Derby Hospital is treating 89 Covid-19 patients, down from 128 last week and a pandemic peak of 388 six weeks ago, a reduction of 77 per cent.
Its intensive care staff are treating 13 patients with the virus, down from more than 20 and far below a pandemic high of nearly 30 last April.
Improved treatment options and understanding of the virus are attributed with this success.
Gavin Boyle, chief executive of the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’ve seen the pressure easing slightly in some of our critical care and high dependency areas, which is obviously good news.
“I feel as though we are moving into a new phase.
“We need to begin to plan the recovery of our services and the treatment of patients whose care has been delayed as a result of the pandemic.
“We will approach this task in a way that respects the experiences of our colleagues over the last year and recognises that we need to recover too.
“We also need to stay vigilant by following the hands, face, space guidance and maintaining social distancing measures whilst the vaccination programme runs its course and the wider population is protected.
“Hold on, let’s not drop our guard too soon.”