Don’t let tourists undo good work on virus says Devon MP
‘Last summer tourists in the UK did not contribute to Covid cases’
MATT HANCOCK
ADEVON MP has called on the Health Secretary to give reassurances that efforts to get coronavirus infection rates to among the lowest in England will not be eradicated by the return of tourists.
North Devon MP Selaine Saxby asked Matt Hancock a question shortly after he unveiled tough new measures for travel in England which include quarantining in hotels for people arriving from ‘red list countries’.
Anyone who refuses to quarantine in a hotel for ten days could face being fined up to £20,000 or going to jail for a maximum of ten years.
The latest figures for Covid-19 infection rates around England – calculated by the Press Association using Public Health England data – say that eight areas of Devon are among the ten places with the country’s lowest levels.
This includes North Devon, which was shown to have the second-lowest rate of 26.8 per 100,000, with 26 cases reported in the week up to February 4.
This led Ms Saxby to ask whether the Government is working on making sure the infection does not increase when tourists are allowed back.
The Conservative MP also asked about whether consideration is being taken to look at easing lockdown measures in areas were infection rates are low. Speaking to the House of Commons via a video link, Ms Saxby said: “Cases here in North Devon are now down to just 25 per 100,000.
“What reassurance can my right honourable friend give that, when the time comes to unlock, the hard work of the people of North Devon will not be undone by an influx of visitors, either from home or abroad with new variants?
“And are options being looked at for local unlocking to enable schools to reopen and some local businesses to restart, given the very low level of community transmission here?”
In response, the Health Secretary said he was pleased to see the rate was so low in North Devon. He added that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will give more details about what the Government’s next steps will be later this month. Mr Hancock said: “I’m delighted to see that there are some parts of the country where the case rate really has come down a long way, down to 25.
“It is important for us to make sure that we get these levels down across the country and we’ve seen before that, when there are areas that are low, there is spread from elsewhere in the country.
“Actually, the experience of last summer was that tourists travelling to go on holiday within the UK did not contribute to an increase in levels. It was when levels elsewhere got really much higher that we then saw the transmission to other parts of the country, and it’s those judgements that will inform the road map proposal that the Prime Minister will set out on February 22.
“I wish I could say more in more detail to my honourable friend, but it’s
for the Prime Minister to set out later this month.”
■ Latest figures released show that seven more people have died in hospital in Devon and Cornwall within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test. Four were at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital, which takes the death toll there to above 200.Two happened on Saturday, and two on Sunday, bringing the total there to 201. A further three have died in the city at Mount Gould Hospital.
Elsewhere, a death from December 28 last year was also recorded at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital – bringing the tally there to 237. One was also recorded at Torbay Hospital from Monday, meaning 97 have now died there following a positive Covid-19 test.
A death was also registered at Cornwall Partnerships Trust from Sunday, February 7, meaning 50 have now died there.
Another 1,052 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in the UK, according to latest Government figures. It brings the UK’s total to 113,850.
A further 12,364 infections were confirmed on Tuesday. Devon reported 478 cases over the last week, with a rate of 59.6 per 100,000 people, while Plymouth has 226 cases at a rate of 86.2 per 100,000 people. Cornwall and Isles of Scilly has 513 cases at a rate of 89.7 per 100,000 people.