More rife than Manchester as 339 cases diagnosed

CORONAVIRUS is now more rife in Bristol than Manchester, Marvin Rees has revealed. As of 4pm on Wednesday, the city’s Covid-19 rate stood at 486 per 100,000 people, with the second lockdown still yet to make a dent on the number of cases.

That compares with an England average of 273.

In Manchester, which has been hard hit by the pandemic, the rate is now lower, at 387 per 100,000 population, while it is 294 in Liverpool, 365 in North Somerset and 343 in South Gloucestershire.

Speaking during a Facebook Live on Wednesday evening, Bristol mayor Mr Rees said: “Certainly compared to our early numbers, that is high and it’s going to continue to rise until we feel the impact of the most recent lockdown.

“There is always a two- to two-anda-half-week lag between the lockdown and experiencing the benefits of that. You can see where we’ve got to as a city which is why it’s incredibly important for people to comply with the guidance and rules.

“If we comply, we will bring the incidence down and relax the restrictions sooner.”

He said the South West’s R rate was between 1.2 and 1.4, which means for every 10 people who have the virus, they pass it on to 12 or 14 people.

But he said Bristol, as the major city in the region, had a higher rate than that because of greater physical interaction and a denser population.

“It’s a challenge for us and we need to stay on the front foot, taking it on by ‘hands, face and space’,” the mayor said.

A further 339 people were diagnosed with coronavirus in Bristol yesterday.

According to the latest data, our city has now recorded 2,248 cases in one week.

This places the city as one of the worst-hit areas, meaning we are most at risk of entering Tier 3 once England’s second lockdown finishes.

South Gloucestershire also saw a surge in cases yesterday, with 149 new infections. This district confirmed two further deaths over the past 24 hours.

North Somerset recorded 72 more cases and one death yesterday.

The latest data, published on November 16, shows there are now 843 Covid patients in hospitals across the South West.

UK-wide, 501 Covid deaths were confirmed today, and 22,915 cases.

Local breakdown of daily figures: BANES: +56(3,315)

Bristol: +339 (13,721)

North Somerset: +72 (3,494) South Gloucestershire: +149 (5,426)

Mr Rees voiced his frustration that the Government was still not telling cities how it would decide to place them into regional tiers once lockdown ends on December 2.

“We are asking for clarity from government on the exit strategy from lockdown,” he said.

“As yet we don’t have that clarity.” Earlier this week it emerged Bristol is at risk of entering the toughest local lockdown tier.

The Government wants to return to the pre-lockdown regional tiers system, and the city could be heading for tier 3, which Mr Rees has said he wants to avoid.