COVID CASES PLUMMET
NORTHERN LINCOLNSHIRE SHOWS SIGNS OF RECOVERY AS DROP MATCHES TIER 2 AREAS
NORTHERN Lincolnshire is showing signs of recovery as coronavirus case rates have plummeted to much safer levels than in recent weeks.
NHS figures show North East Lincolnshire’s coronavirus case rate has tumbled to 217 per 100,000, after being more than 600 earlier this month.
North Lincolnshire also is relatively low with a case rate of 228. It means North East Lincolnshire’s rate is about half of what it was when the area had Tier 2 restrictions first imposed. The huge improvement is also reflected in the latest seven-day rolling average compiled using different data from the Press Association, where North East Lincolnshire is at 253 (down from 404 last week) and North Lincolnshire at 255 (down from 440 for the same period).
North East Lincolnshire is now only a few points higher than some areas which were placed in Tier 2 last week, sparking hope the area could go back to Tier 2 for Christmas.
Peterborough was at 197 per 100,000 when the decision was made, and Worcestershire was at 207.
Monday’s new cases are 38 for North East Lincolnshire (for a total of 5,163) and 48 for North Lincolnshire (leading to a total of 4,763.)
On the government’s coronavirus map, northern Lincolnshire has at last fallen out of the highest level which painted the area purple for weeks, representing a worrying rate of more than 400 cases per 100,000.
Now both the Grimsby and Scunthorpe regions have at last
improved their rates enough to be in the ‘blue’ category of 200 to 400. Whilst there are still pockets in high case rates in individual neighbourhoods, the overall numbers are moving in the right direction. This is a rapid turnaround as daily cases remained stubbornly stuck over 100 for much of lockdown.
From Wednesday, December 2, the whole Humber and Lincolnshire regions will be in Tier 3 for at least a fortnight.
The restrictions are next set to be reviewed by December 16. There are some suggestions that future restrictions might be focused on individual boroughs rather than whole regions. North East Lincolnshire may potentially find itself placed in a different tier to neighbouring North Lincolnshire or East Lindsey.
Although case numbers are improving, hospitalisations and deaths are unlikely to fall yet due to the lag in people becoming seriously ill.
As of Monday morning, 71 Covid patients are being treated at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, with six of them in intensive care. A further 87 are currently in Scunthorpe General Hospital, where three are in ICU. Deaths rose by a further six to 244 yesterday, making last week the deadliest on record for northern Lincolnshire’s hospitals. November has seen a total of 99 deaths – the worst for any month to date.