CITY VIRUS INFECTION RATE HAS DOUBLED IN A WEEK
300 cases confirmed over seven-day period
NEW figures have revealed that Stokeon-trent’s coronavirus infection rate has almost doubled in the past week.
The city had 300 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the seven days up to October 11, which equates to a weekly infection rate of 117 cases per 100,000 population.
This is a big jump from the 155 cases confirmed over the previous sevenday period, which equated to an infection rate of 60.5.
Newcastle remains the area of Staffordshire with the highest weekly infection rate – 145.2 cases per 100,000 – with 188 people in the borough testing positive for Covid-19 over the seven days. Staffordshire Moorlands had 112 cases, equating to an infection rate of 113.8. Stafford has an rate of 130.4, after 179 cases were confirmed over the week.
The infection rate is also continuing to rise in Cheshire East, the only local area which is currently subject to tier two ‘high alert’ restrictions on household mixing.
Cheshire East had 645 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the seven days up to October 11, which equates to a weekly rate of 167.9 cases per 100,000.
Nottingham remains the part of England with the highest infection rate – 922.2 per 100,000.
Last night the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser revealed that the epidemic is growing at between four seven per cent each day
Sir Patrick Vallance says the current lockdown measures are working to reduce the rate of transmission but warns “more work is needed” to get the R number ‘at one or below’.
It comes as it emerged that nationally, there has been a ‘significant increase’ in the number of people in intensive care with coronavirus, particularly in age groups over the age of 45.
And the news about the doubling of the rate of infection in the city emerged as Public Health England figures last night showed an additional 77 people have received positive coronavirus tests in Stoke-onTrent. This means the total number of people to contract the virus since March now stands at 2,694.
In Staffordshire there have been an additional 247 new Covid-19 cases as of 4pm yesterday. This means 7,458 people have now tested positive since the daily recording statistics began.
In Cheshire East there have been another 103 confirmed cases bringing the total to 4,407.
Across the United Kingdom there have been 15,650 positive coronavirus tests meaning a total of 689,257 people have contracted the virus.
Figures show 136 people across the United Kingdom died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus bringing the death toll to 43,429.
Of these 13 have been in the West Midlands. None of these have been across our local hospitals.