It’s difficult to know why infection rate is so high, says health director
THE DIRECTOR of public health in Kirklees said it is “difficult to know” why the district has one of the highest Covid-19 infection rates in the country, after the Government stepped in to try and curb the spread of the virus.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the district in West Yorkshire is one of six that will be provided with additional testing and vaccine doses, saying “rates are rising” and the Government “needs to act fast”.
In Kirklees, the infection rate stands at 72.1 cases per 100,000 people, after 317 cases were recorded over seven days. That is the fourth highest rate in England.
Earlier this week, a small number of cases of a variant (B.1.617.2) first detected in India, which is being treated as a variant of concern by Public Health England, were detected in Huddersfield but Kirklees Council said they were “in one household” and it is working to contain the outbreak.
Rachel Spencer-Henshall, the council’s director of Public Health, said: “Whilst deaths and hospitalisations related to the virus remain at a low level in Kirklees, we have to make sure our infection rate does not continue to increase and lead to this changing.
“It’s difficult to know why our infection rate is as high as it is, but we do know how to prevent the virus from spreading because it remains the same.”
She added: “We have positive levels of vaccine uptake in Kirklees but, by speeding up its delivery and adding more popup clinics where they’re needed most, we can reduce infection rates and protect local people.
“This support will help us to build on what the council, NHS and partner organisations are already doing. Ultimately, we want to be able to increase the number of people eligible to be vaccinated and boost our capacity in parts of the borough where vaccine uptake is lower.” She has previously said Kirklees may have a relatively high infection rate because “a larger proportion of our population have to leave their house to work”.
Latest figures show 340,280 vaccine doses had been administered in the area by May 9.