Nearly 800 are missing school due to virus
NEARLY 800 pupils and 300 teachers are currently absent from schools in Devon due to the health crisis, according Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw.
Mr Bradshaw has highlighted increasing waiting times for tests as one of the biggest problems currently facing the fight against Covid-19.
He believes local authorities should be given control over contact tracing to bring down waiting times.
His comments come the day after the government announced its new three tier alert system for England. All parts of the country have been placed in one of the three tiers, ranging from Medium to High to Very High.
There were concerns Exeter could be placed on highest alert due to the number of cases in the city – an action for which Mr Bradshaw said there would be ‘no justification’.
For now the whole of the Westcountry, including Exeter, remain in the Medium tier.
That decision was justified on the basis that many of the cases reported in Exeter are at the university and there has been no widespread transmission in the community. The latest cluster map data to October 7 showed a reduction in cases in the Pennsylvania and University area.
On Tuesday Mr Bradshaw said on Twitter: “Encouraging to see a drop in the latest Exeter & Devon Covid-19 UK rates but no room for complacency.”
He went on: “775 pupils are out of school in Exeter; 271 teachers absent in Devon. Waits for tests and results are lengthening again, leaving pupils and teachers out of school longer than need be.
“This poses major challenges for local schools who feel completely abandoned by the Government.
“Also no sign in the Government’s promised shift of powers & resources to local Contact Tracing teams, who do far better job than the national system.”
There has been another coronavirus-related death at Derriford Hospital, new figures show. NHS England recorded one more patient who tested positive for coronavirus has died at the hospital.
The data shows the death was recorded on Sunday, October 11 and is the 83rd death, related to coronavirus, at Derriford Hospital. The last death recorded at Derriford Hospital was announced on October 3.
There has also been two other hospital deaths in Plymouth, at the Mount Gould Hospital, with the last reported death there on June 7.
Outside of the rise in cases among the University of Exeter student population rates of infection remain low in Devon. A spokesperson for Public Health Devon said: “Cases elsewhere in Devon are still comparatively low (certainly below the national average) compared to other local authorities. Outside of Exeter the highest current weekly rate in Devon is East Devon at 48 per 100,000 population and the lowest currently weekly rate is Torridge at 20 per 100,000 population, compared to a national weekly rate of 165 per 100,000.”
“There is no dominant factor that would explain how the infection is spreading,” he added, pointing out people returning from abroad were the cause of some outbreaks.