Testing will be crucial in tackling virus resurgence
PUBLIC HEALTH BOSSES WARN AGAINST COMPLACENCY
A COVID resurgence is ‘entirely possible’ as lockdown eases and people in Nottinghamshire are being urged to stick to the restrictions, get tested and go for their jabs.
Public health officials said the county’s infection rate currently sits above the England average, and while the number of cases has decreased in recent weeks, people have been warned not to get complacent.
The infection rate in the county is 50.3 cases per 100,000 people, with a total of 417 new cases recorded in the week to April 3.
Nottingham sits at 30 cases per 100,000 people, with a total of 100 new cases in the same period, and both the city and county have recorded substantial declines in virus numbers.
The England average, by comparison, is currently 37 cases per 100,000 people.
While this is good news, public health officials say the effects of Easter weekend mingling - as well as the reintroduction of the rule of six back on March 29 - may not be felt for another two to three weeks.
With restrictions easing once again on Monday, they emphasised the importance of taking all necessary precautions, including attending vaccine appointments when called.
Louise Lester, consultant in Public Health at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We will need to monitor the effect of that on both the transmission rates and cases that unfortunately end up in hospital as well.
“In terms of the Easter break and impacts on transmission and of course from March 29, we know that it will take a couple of weeks before we see an impact so that’s why things like the asymptomatic testing are really important.
“We want to find those cases as quickly as possible. What I would say is that the majority of cases we are seeing are those LFT tests, so those that are from the asymptomatic population rather than those that are symptomatic, another reason why it is important to do that testing.
“It is good news we were able to get to that step of the road-map, but it should definitely be taken sensibly and carefully and cautiously.
“It would be entirely possible we would see further increases in certain areas, we will continue to monitor that, but as we have already mentioned residents can play their part in this to keep rates as low as possible by continuing all the measures that are known to them.
“I’m confident the vast majority of people have been doing that all along and will continue to do that as things open up.
“We know from the SAGE modelling that has been available this last week that there is the potential for there to be a resurgence of Covid at some point this year, we just don’t know the size or the scale of that potential future wave.
“But what we do know is we would be better going into it in the best possible position with the rates as low as possible to reduce the impact of that and reduce any further impact on our NHS and social care systems.
“It’s really about continuing all the good, hard work.”
David Johns, consultant in public health for Nottingham, added: “In Nottingham city we are noticing our rates are coming down and the vaccination programme is doing some good work.
“This allows us to consider those opportunities to reach those milestones on the road-map. It will take us two or three weeks from those points on the road-map to see what the impact of those are.
“We monitor the situation closely to identify the beginning of any rise. I want to stress the importance of that twice weekly testing that should become part of our lives as we go through these milestones as we go through the stages on the road-map.
“Those tests will allow us to catch those asymptomatic cases to reduce the transmission to those vulnerable people that we might be visiting outdoors or meeting up with.”