Call to have jab as Covid cases soar
CORONAVIRUS infection rates are rising faster in east Lancashire than almost anywhere in the UK, new analysis shows.
Rossendale, Ribble Valley and Hyndburn are among those areas to see a steep rise in Covid-19 cases.
It comes as a Lancashire public health director calls for vaccinations to be given to 12 to 18-year-olds to fight “exceptionally high” numbers in hotspot areas.
The Department of Health and Social Care has said “no decisions have been made” over vaccinating children.
Covid infection rates have almost tripled in Rossendale in a week, with 223 cases seeing the rate per 100,000 people rocket to 312.0, up from 113.3 seven days earlier. And the rates for teenagers are up to four times higher.
The figures are for the seven days to May 28, with the most recent days excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.
On Tuesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the vaccination programme was clearly working after zero daily Covid deaths were announced for the first time since March 2020.
Downing Street also indicated that Prime Minister Boris Johnson still sees nothing in the data to suggest the plan to end all legal lockdown restrictions on June 21 will need to be delayed.
On the spread of the virus among younger age groups, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health at Lancashire County Council, said: “This is why it is so important that anyone who has not yet received their first Covid jab should check their eligibility and book without delay.
“We believe there are people out there who are eligible to receive the vaccine, but do not realise it, such as people who look after their family members or those who work with someone with an underlying health condition.
“Booking your appointment is really easy and I encourage everybody who is over 18 and eligible for the vaccine to book it without delay.
“Vaccinations are the most effective way we can combat the virus and resume normal life.”
Earlier in the week, hyperlocal seven-day rolling data by area showed Haslingden to be the Valley’s Covid hotspot with 62 cases, compared to 26 in Townsendfold & Edenfield, 18 in Rawtenstall, and 25 in Waterfoot & Stacksteads.
People living, studying and working in areas including Rossendale are being urged to take a PCR test even if they do not have symptoms.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that NHS Test and Trace was working in partnership with local authorities to launch additional testing and genomic sequencing across these areas.
Additional mobile testing units and Covid-19 tests are being deployed to higher educational settings in these areas while door-to-door testing is also taking place to find and isolate cases, it added.
Meanwhile there has been a call for Lancashire’s schools to remain shut for a week after the half-term break in an attempt to stem the spread of the variant.
Ian Watkinson, who chairs the National Education Union’s health and safety group, said combining this week’s holiday with a period of home learning - for all but the children of key workers and vulnerable children - could act a ‘circuit breaker’ to slow transmission. The weekly rolling case rates per 100,000 in the 10-14 and 15-19-yearold age groups are 1,181 and 947 respectively.