‘Hands, face and space’ warning as Covid cases rising
COUNCIL BOSSSS GIVES A SAFETSAFETY REMINDER
HULL’S soaring coronavirus s infection rate is continuing to rise.
The rate of community infection n across the city has risen by 35 per r cent over the past week.
It has led to Hull having the e highest rate in England after r months of seeing comparatively low w infection rates.
Yesterday morning, Hull City y Council chief executive Matt Jukes s tweeted: “Hull’s Covid-19 infections s are continuing to rise quickly.
“It is absolutely vital we all ll follow the national lockdown n guidance and remember – hands, s, face, space.”
In the seven days leading up to November 10, 3,434 people across Hull and the East Riding tested positive for the virus.
On Monday, it was announced both Hull and the East Riding would be included in a pilot nationwide roll-out of 500,000 rapid lateral flow Covid-19 tests.
Results from the new tests can be delivered in an hour without the need for processing in a laboratory.
It’s expected each council will receive an initial batch of 10,000 tests to be followed by a weekly allocation equivalent to 10 per cent of their respective area’s population.
Hull’s director of public health Julia Weldon said: “The development and implementation of a localised approach to test and trace is something we and our partners in the wider Humber area have prioritised.
“With rates locally rapidly increasing, tional testing capacity high and this addiis critically
Julia Weldon, director of Public Health at Hull City Council
important and supports us in being able to progress and enhance plans already in place.
“Our focus now will be to urgently put in place the detail of our local delivery, including how we will work with a wide range of local partners and how this work can be integrated with the existing national Test and Trace systems and existing local contact tracing, as well as our local strategy to control coronavirus rates.
“We must also agree how we can align this opportunity with the wide range of testing activity being undertaken in other areas and organisations, including care homes, universities, prisons and NHS frontline staff.”
Speaking after a meeting with
East Riding Council leaders to discuss updates on the virus, Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said: “I was very pleased to hear that those at the council are priming themselves to be ready for this new milestone in testing.
“In addition to meeting our target capacity of 500,000 tests a day, the new rapid tests will hopefully help to quash the case rate so that we can exit these tough restrictions that we have been forced to adopt because of how quickly the virus is spreading.”
Mr Stuart said the new tests would help identify asymptomatic people who unknowingly have the virus, ensuring they self-isolate along with their close contacts.
Hull’s Covid-19 infections are continuing to rise quickly. It is absolutely vital we all follow the national lockdown guidance and remember - hands, face, space
Matt Jukes