Progress as area’s seven-day Covid rate continues to fall
REGION ‘UNLIKELY TO MOVE OUT OF TIER 3 BEFORE CHRISTMAS’
THE seven day rolling rates of new coronavirus cases across northern Lincolnshire has seen another fall despite a slight rise in the daily cases. Across the nation the first wave of vaccinations are taking place and over in Hull, 84-year-old Sheila Page was the first in the area to have the jab on Wednesday, December 9. Despite the rollout of vaccinations and improving rates both here and in neighbouring regions, local officials have warned it will still be unlikely that the area will move out of Tier 3 before Christmas and urged families to be sensible when forming their shortterm festive bubbles. Over the latest recorded 24 hour period there were 36 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in North East Lincolnshire which was a rise on the previous day’s total of 23. In the same period there were 39 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed in North Lincolnshire which is again a rise on the previous day’s total which was 31 new cases.
These latest figures mean there has now been 5,476 confirmed Covid-19 cases in North East Lincolnshire and 5,136 in North Lincolnshire.
The rise of 21 additional cases across the region to a new total of 75 cases in 24 hours represents a slight step backwards in the progress that has been made in previous days.
A better indication of progress are the seven day rolling rates that give us a rate of infection per 100,000 people in the region.
In North East Lincolnshire, the rolling rate based on NHS data from the week up to December 7 is 117 cases per 100,000 people which is a fall on the previous rate of 139.
In North Lincolnshire the rate also fell from 174 cases per 100,000 in the previous seven day period to 167 according to the latest data.
It comes as another patient has sadly died in a northern Lincolnshire hospital after testing positive for Covid-19. NHS England has confirmed a coronavirus patient in one of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust’s hospitals passed away on Tuesday, December 8.
This brings the overall death toll in the region’s hospitals to 282, and brings December’s death toll up to 31 in eight days.
As of yesterday morning, there were 135 coronavirus patients being treated by the hospital trust – 52 at Grimsby, 75 at Scunthorpe and eight at Goole. Of these, four were in ICU – two at Grimsby and two at Scunthorpe. In a message to the people of North East Lincolnshire, council leader Philip Jackson said: “Whilst there is some hope on the horizon with a vaccine being approved, it does not mean that this virus is no longer a threat.
“Even after the vaccination has been rolled out across our communities it is likely that some of these measures will remain in place for some time, and we await further guidance on this from the Government and the NHS.
“Until then, our message to local people is this: please continue to keep your distance from others, wash or sanitise your hands regularly, and wear a mask if you’re going out to enclosed public spaces. This is the only way that we will keep the spread of this virus down.”