STEADY FALL IN COVID CASES – STICK TO RULES, SAY POLICE
FIGURES published over the weekend confirmed that one person passed away in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in Devon and Cornwall.
The death, recorded by NHS England, occurred at Royal Devon and Exeter (RD&E) Hospital on January 29. There had been no deaths at the hospital the previous day.
On January 28, there were two deaths recorded at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, two at Torbay Hospital, one at North Devon District Hospital, and one at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.
The total number of deaths at the RD&E has now reached 230. The number of deaths at Torbay Hospital is 91, and there have been 75 at North Devon District Hospital.
The total number of confirmed Covid-19 related deaths at Derriford is 185.
At the end of last week, the number of coronavirus cases confirmed across Devon and Cornwall had fallen by a third in the previous seven days.
A total of 2,327 new cases were confirmed across the two counties in the last week as the total for the two counties stood at 41,388 – the lowest total for five weeks – and with Exeter and Plymouth seeing cases more than halve.
Government statistics showed that 2,327 new cases had been confirmed across the region in the past seven days in both Pillar One data from tests carried out by the NHS and Pillar Two data from commercial partners, compared to 3,521 new cases confirmed the previous week.
Of the 2,327 cases confirmed in the week starting January 22, 1,005 were in Cornwall, with 152 in East Devon, 110 in Exeter, 107 in Mid Devon, 51 in North Devon, 382 in Plymouth, 80 in South Hams, 137 in Teignbridge, 211 in Torbay, 30 in Torridge and 62 in West Devon.
This compared to the 3,521 cases confirmed between January 16 and 22, of which 1,229 were in Cornwall, with 221 in East Devon, 258 in Exeter, 127 in Mid Devon, 72 in North Devon, 794 in Plymouth, 147 in South Hams, 245 in Teignbridge, 278 in Torbay, 39 in Torridge and 111 in West Devon.
However, as case numbers fall, police officers in Devon are stepping up their warnings to people to stay in their local area and stop travelling unnecessarily – even if driving just 15 minutes away to go for a walk.
It comes just a week after officers stopped a motorist in Churston who had driven for around 20 minutes from Totnes to go for a walk, and just a few days after officers stopped another driver who had travelled from Newton Abbot to Brixham Breakwater.
Brixham Police are reminding people of the lockdown rules and urging people not to travel away from their local area without good reason.
It is understood “local area” means your village, town or the part of the city in which you live.
A statement from Brixham Police, issued on Saturday morning read: “Please remember why we are all in a National Lockdown – to protect the NHS.
“Last weekend, we had to speak to a driver who had come from Totnes to walk around Churston. The journey from Totnes would have taken approx. 21 minutes.
“During the week, we had to speak to someone who travelled from Newton Abbot to walk along the Brixham Breakwater, a journey of 32 minutes. “The rules are clear:
“Only essential travel is allowed (eg. work, education).
“You can leave your home to exercise, once per day.
“This should be in your local area. “Local is defined as ‘your village, town or the part of a city where you live’.
“If necessary, you can travel a short distance within your local area.
“You should look to reduce the number of journeys you make.”
The statement went on: “A 15 minute drive to go for a walk is not essential”. Police point out that, while case rates are dropping, the NHS remains under extreme pressure at this time.