By Leah Conway –
Kirklees’ COVID-19 infection rate increased by 17 per cent over the past week but COVID-related hospital admissions and deaths have fallen over the past week.
People are encouraged to keep doing all they can to keep each other safe, which recently has been surrounded by the discussions of whether the government should reimpose guidelines such as masks and work from home again.
Cases and Hospitalisations
Over the past 7 days, 522 people per 100,000 in Kirklees tested positive for COVID-19, which is a 17 per cent increase over the previous period.
These numbers are than the national average of 454.5 people per 100,000.
However, hospital admissions have decreased from 58 to 47 in the last seven days.
Sadly there were four more COVID-related deaths in local hospitals over the last week.
If you have symptoms you should isolate straight away and go to get a PCR test. Residents can still get their free lateral flow tests too.
Vaccinations
As of the time of writing, 297,000 Kirklees residents have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 272,000 having also received their second dose.
There are a number of walk-in vaccination clinics available across Kirklees and you can use the NHS site finder to find the nearest walk-in clinic.
National Figures
There were 327,537 confirmed positive cases nationwide in the last seven days, increasing from the previous week’. Over the past seven days, there have been 912 COVID-19 related deaths within 28 days of a positive test, a rise from last week.
So far, 49,554,407 people have had their first dose, with 45,460,122 people receiving their second dose. This equates to 86.2 per cent of the population 12+ being vaccinated in the UK.
All people aged over 16 can book their vaccines or attend walk-in clinics across the district.
‘Enjoy Winter Safely’ Campaign
Kirklees Council has today launched a new campaign to encourage residents to ‘Enjoy Winter Safely’ as we approach the colder months.
The council’s campaign aims to give local people advice on staying safe as Covid infection rates in the borough remain high and cases increase across the country.
Launching the campaign, the council’s Director of Public Health, Rachel Spencer-Henshall, outlined ‘three simple steps’ for residents to keep safe this winter.
- Getting a booster jab when it’s your turn.
- Meeting outdoors as much as possible (and ventilating well while indoors).
- Getting tested regularly.
“It’s great that this winter and Christmas we’re able to enjoy ourselves and celebrate in a much more normal way, with restrictions lifted and the vaccine offering more protection,” Rachel said.
“We just need to remember that the virus is spreading at a fast rate and we all need to make decisions that keep ourselves and others as safe as possible.
“Together, we can Enjoy Winter Safely.”
This week’s headlines:
- Among discussion of reimposing COVID-19 rules, hospitality chiefs have warned Boris Johnson not to reimpose restrictions over winter as it would put pubs, restaurants, bars and more to ‘go to the wall’.
- However, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, has warned ministers of a ‘winter crisis’ if rules aren’t enforced soon but the Prime Minister stated there are no current plans to introduce these plans.
- All over 50s and all eligible people are encouraged to get their booster jab – people over 80, in care homes, frontline health workers and social care workers are amongst the group to get the booster jab first.