‘Alarming’ Covid surge in town that beat virus
HIGHEST RATE IN COUNTY JUST WEEKS AFTER ‘SUPPRESSING’ INFECTION
PEOPLE in a Nottinghamshire town are shocked by an “alarming” surge in Covid-19 infections in their area.
Latest data shows the Sutton Central and Leamington area of Suttonin-ashfield now has the highest rate of infection in the county.
The figures, accurate for the week ending January 7, show the area’s infection rate per 100,000 people now stands at 930 cases – above the England average of 629.9.
During this seven-day period, 74 new cases of the virus were recorded in the area – exactly double the 37 cases reported a week earlier.
This comes just weeks after the same area managed to “suppress” the virus, reducing the number of new cases to almost zero.
Reacting to the news, residents and councillors said there are concerns but that the vaccine provides “hope”.
Andy Cunnington, 58, who runs A. Cunnington and Sons Butchers in Low Street, described the figures as “alarming”.
He said: “It’s worrying, obviously. We’re just pinning all our hopes on the vaccine and hopefully it will help to sort it all out.
“These past couple of weeks there has only been a few people in town,
“I think people are realising it’s really serious now.
“The figures are alarming, I didn’t know it was that bad.
“The majority of our customers are following the rules – they come in and sanitise their hands, and have masks on.
“We don’t have more than a couple of people in at one time. It’s about following the rules.”
Elizabeth Warner, 41, in the town centre to visit the bank, fears cases may be high due to people “meeting when they shouldn’t be”.
She said: “To be honest I don’t know why [cases are so high], Sutton town centre has been a ghost town since the start of lockdown.
“It must be that people are meeting when they shouldn’t be, or bending the rules.
“I’m sick of it all now. The sooner we all get vaccinated and go back to normal the better.”
Shopper Nicole Cooper, 29, added: “I’ve seen that Ashfield’s cases have been going up a lot recently, but I wasn’t aware it was so bad in Sutton.
“My worry is that the lockdown and the restrictions aren’t working, because surely cases should be going down and not up.
“I think people are a bit fatigued by the rules, not being able to see people, but it shouldn’t stop everyone from sticking to them.”
Councillor Sarah Madigan, who represents Leamington Ward on Ashfield District Council for the Ashfield Independents, said: “I’ve been proud of the way that my neighbours and friends on the Leamington Estate have coped with this pandemic.
“The figures are the figures, however, and should act as a stark reminder that this virus is going nowhere.
“We’ve brought positive cases down before by working together and we can all do it again.”
Councillor Dave Hennigan, who chairs Ashfield District Council’s Covid-19 response committee, and also independently represents Sutton Central and New
Cross, said: “These figures should serve as a wake-up call. When you compare the figures to just three weeks ago they show a massive spike in positive coronavirus cases. “This should alarm every single resident in Sutton- in-ashfield. I said before Christmas that we shouldn’t be complacent and these figures prove I was right. “What people fail to realise that is that by breaking the rules they are lengthening the pain felt by everybody.”
We’re just pinning all our hopes on the vaccine and hopefully it will help to sort it out
Andy Cunnington