COVID infection rate declining in Slough
Slough: Rate had dropped to 248.8 per 100,000 people, board finds
Slough’s COVID-19 infection rate has dropped to its lowest point since early November but a public health official has still warned cases are falling slowly.
A meeting of the council’s outbreak engagement board heard last night the borough’s weekly rate of confirmed new cases per 100,000 people currently stands at 248.8.
The infection rate climbed to 365.8 in midNovember and has not been this low since a rate of 240.7 cases per 100,000 people was recorded on November 6.
Sue Foley, public health consultant for Slough Borough Council, said: “Overall the rate of cases are declining including in the over 60s and 17-21 age groups but it is slower than the rest of the county and country.
“We’ve got Christmas coming up so what we don’t want is to see a massive rise again due to that particular festivity and it would be great to see us keep coming down.”
Slough is currently ranked 24th in the country in terms of the number of positive COVID-19 cases in each area.
The infection rate for over 60s stands at 209.4, down from 223.4 last week.
The number of positive cases among 17-21 yearold’s has dropped from 486.3 to 420.6 per 100,000 people.
Councillor Rob Anderson (Lab, Britwell and Northborough) asked why Slough’s younger population is still recording far higher positive cases of the virus than the rest of the county.
He said: “Is there something special about our young people that they’re getting infected more and are not adhering to the protocols more than the rest of Berkshire?
“Or is it that we’ve got a higher cohort of young people because we’ve got a younger population generally than say West Berkshire or Bracknell?”
Ms Foley said a combination of factors explained the continued high rates among young people.
She said youngsters were more exposed to the virus due to working in high-risk occupations and added there was a frustration among young adults regarding socialising restrictions and a ‘fear of missing out’ on events including 18th and 21st birthdays.
The meeting heard how the council is using targeted adverts on social media platforms such as Instagram to try and reach a younger audience with its public health messages.