Different to other places
Now is a very difficult time for people across the North East as the virus peaks in the region and the thoughts of everyone are with those who have lost loved ones and the key workers who are working for the benefit of others.
Sunderland has the highest infection rate in the country at present which has prompted attempts to explain how this has happened but there are many reasons why the city is different to other places that need to be considered.
No one would deny the role of health inequalities and deprivation on the spread and effect of the virus but that does not fully explain why Sunderland has a higher infection rate than other similar places in the North East.
To say that this has been made worse by the “consequences of austerity” -as some journalists and Labour Party representatives have done – is neither appropriate at this time nor a sound reason to explain why Sunderland is different to other places.
Both Middlesbrough and Hartlepool have similar health inequalities and levels of deprivation and have seen similar levels of government spending in recent years, but they have lower levels of infection at the moment.
Further away, Northern Ireland is the most deprived part of the United Kingdom but has a much lower rate of infection suggesting that other factors as well as health inequalities and deprivation are also relevant.
Sunderland has a high level of hospital use which precedes Covid 19, and since testing has been focused on hospitals, that has led to a higher figure for the city and may partly explain why there is a difference compared with other places.
Other factors which may also offer explanation to the local figures are that the city has an older population and fewer people who are able to work from home within an area that is relatively densely populated.
Councillor Robert Oliver. Leader, Conservative Group. City of Sunderland Council.