Pretty villages, but infection rate for Covid-19 is alarming
NEIGHBOURHOOD COMES SECOND FOR WHOLE OF COUNTY, BUT VIRUS-HIT JAIL NEARBY
TWO picturesque villages in East Staffordshire are in an area rated as one of the highest in Staffordshire for Covid infections.
A neighbourhood comprising Abbots Bromley, Yoxall and Marchington is second in a list of the 10 areas with the highest infection rates across the county.
The rate in this area per 100,000 people exceeds 1,180, but it should be remembered that the villages are near HMP Dovegate, which, as reported in the Burton Mail last week, has reported a high outbreak of Covid-19 among staff and inmates.
The figures, which show the seven-day rate for new cases per 100,000 people in each Government-defined area, are accurate for the seven days up to January 17 - the latest available at the time of writing.
The list includes three areas in Burton – Eton Park, Branston and Stapenhill, where the rates are respectively 716.2, 701.7 and 614.7.
The figures come as Covid-19 continues to blight lives across the UK, with a new variant of the virus 70 times more infectious than the original strain infecting people at an alarming rate. There are also concerns about South African and Brazilian variants.
The 10 neighbourhoods with the highest infection rates in Staffordshire:
1. Featherstone West, Coven and Shareshill (South Staffordshire): 1,560.2*
2. Abbots Bromley, Yoxall and Marchington: 1,180.8*
3. Cannock North: 738.9
4. Amington (near Tamworth): 734
5. Burton Eton Park: 716.2
6. Branston (near Burton): 701.7
7. Featherstone East and Essington (South Staffordshire): 690.4
8. Norton Canes (Cannock Chase): 641.5
9. Stafford North East: 625.5
10. Stapenhill: 614.7 *Prisons are sited in these locations. HMP Dovegate, in Marchington, is known to be experiencing a major Covid outbreak. The Ministry of Justice has been asked how many infections there are at HMP Featherstone.