Health boss says second virus wave is ‘not inevitable’
Leading officer reacts to autumn spike fears
A second coronavirus wave in Kent this autumn is not inevitable, says an NHS boss.
Wilf Williams, the chief accountable officer of the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), says he is “broadly reassured” by declining case numbers, but also warns the public against complacency.
His comments came after members of Kent County Council’s (KCC) health overview and scrutiny committee (HOSC) said they were worried about a rapid rise of Covid infections from September.
Speaking during a virtual public meeting, Mr Williams said: “Any talk of a second wave being in September is an estimation rather than inevitability.” The senior NHS manager, who was installed to his new post in February ahead of the integration of Kent and Medway’s health service, says the county is in a much better position for managing future outbreaks. More than 1,600 people died from coronavirus in Kent and Medway across all settings up to July 17, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday. This has been described as a “tragedy” by the NHS, which is working with public bodies to prevent wider outbreaks across the county.
Testing capacity has grown significantly and data collection has massively improved in hospitals and care homes, KCC’s HOSC was told.
In addition, all 9,000 NHS staff working across East Kent Hospital Trust sites were tested last week in a five-day blitz, with just 15 testing positive.
However, the trust is also suffering more Covid-19 deaths than any other in England. Kent’s NHS 111 calls are being closely tracked because health officials say this could be a potential marker for an upsurge in coronavirus cases. Mr Williams said the health service had not seen “anything concerning on that front yet”.
He added: “We are in a better situation now. We have much better data in terms of testing. That is broadly reassuring in terms of what we are finding there in terms of new cases. That’s relatively stable and on the decline.”
But he also warned: “This is critically dependent on everyone’s behaviour.”
Despite this, Kent councillors remain unconvinced and expressed their fears around a resurgence of Covid resulting from huge crowds visiting the county’s beaches last month. About 60,000 packed beaches in Margate and Broadstairs as temperatures soared on a single dayinJune
Maidstone county councillor Dan Daley (Lib Dem) said: “When you look at the stupidity factor of the pictures of the beaches in the last couple of weekends, the question of when the second wave is going to hit us is no longer in my view something to be speculative.”
‘Any talk of a second wave being in September is an estimation rather than inevitability’