An update from the Director of Public Health.
Minutes:
The Director of Public Health outlined there were still high rates of infections in many areas in the country, and whilst some had seen a levelling off, the South West was still rising, as well as Devon.
The key messaging of staying at home was crucial and not leaving home unless absolutely essential.
The presentation from the Public Health consultant presented the UK summary which now included those vaccinated with their 1st doses, the number being almost 4,973,248.
The national data showed that growth had slowed slightly but caution was still required with the data as rates had fluctuated since the Christmas break.
The number of deaths within 28 days and patients admitted to hospital (nationally) was still rising.
The Devon statistics showed 1456 cases in latest week equating to approximately 181.5 per 100k population (whilst below the England average, it was one of the highest rates seen).
Other data shown was the trend when compared to neighbouring Local Authorities which again showed a continued increase, but signs this was slowing.
The age profile was also shown, which highlighted the large increase in the aged 80 plus cohort, mainly attributable to outbreaks in care homes and the interactive map showed cases and data at neighbourhood level, demonstrating outbreaks and higher cases in areas such as Newton Abbot, Honiton and Cullompton.
The number of workplace cases had also been rising, as well as rises in primary age children. This could be due to pandemic fatigue, and it was therefore important to reiterate the key public health messages of Hands, Face and Space.
The data shown during the presentation was available at:
DCC Covid-19 Dashboard: Coronavirus dashboard and data in Devon - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
National Coronavirus Tracker: Daily summary | Coronavirus in the UK (data.gov.uk) National Coronavirus Interactive Map: Interactive Map | Coronavirus in the UK (data.gov.uk)
Members discussion points included:
· In terms of seeing a positive outcome of the vaccination on the statistics, the Director of Public Health advised that the vaccination programme was about reducing serious health issues experienced by the most vulnerable, and it was unlikely that we would see the positive effects of the vaccine just yet. Research was still being conducted into the effects of the vaccine, and whether those who had been vaccinated could still transmit the virus if they didn’t maintain social distancing measures. It was anticipated a reduction should be seen in the next few weeks and months in the seriousness of health problems in the most vulnerable and a reduction in the number of deaths and hospital admissions.
· The vaccination programme was not about getting all the community vaccinated and reducing social distancing measures but focussed on reducing deaths and the number of seriously ill patients in order to reduce the impact on the NHS – therefore it targeted the most vulnerable.
· The rollout of community testing programmes had begun, which focussed specifically around asymptomatic testing and picking up those 1 in 3 people who had the virus but no symptoms. This testing would be targeted at key and critical workers who were unable to work from home. The first site was being launched at County Hall next week.