By Leah Conway & Tatiana Zaituni –
Kirklees’ infection rate remains one of the highest in the country and is continuing to rise. There have also been a small number of cases of the Indian variant reported locally.
Kirklees Council has urged the public to remain cautious to prevent the infection rate from getting worse. In an attempt to help control the spread of infection, the Government has introduced surge testing and additional vaccinations will be introduced to Kirklees as well as other areas with higher COVID-19 infection rates.
Cases and Hospitalisations:
The Kirklees infection rate has increased to 72 people per 100,000 in Kirklees testing positive for COVID-19. This is an increase of 35 % since last week. The national average is 21 per 100,000 people.
Eight people were being treated in local hospitals over the last week and there have been no deaths related to COVID-19 in local hospitals.
The council have organised additional pop-up testing facilities. Find out more here.
National Figures:
In the last 7 days, there were 16,743 confirmed positive cases nationwide, a further increase from last week’s cases. In the last 7 days, there have been 42 COVID-19 related deaths within 28 days of a positive test, down 28 compared to last week.
Remember, you can receive free lateral flow at-home tests. To find out how to get yours click here.
Lockdown
Lockdown restrictions were eased this week on 17 May. You can read what rules have changed here.
The next wave of restrictions will ease no earlier than 21 June.
Vaccinations:
As of this week, a total of 37,518,614 people have received their first vaccination. Those who have accepted the second dose total is 21,659,783.
Over 225,000 local people in Kirklees have had their first vaccination and over 139,000 have had their second dose too. People aged 34 and over are urged to book their vaccination now.
Kirklees Council is introducing pop-up vaccination clinics to help speed the vaccination programme along.
“Thank you all for play your part.”
Rachel Spencer-Henshall, Strategic Director for Public Health at Kirklees Council, said: “Rates of infection in Kirklees have been rising in recent weeks and there are concerns nationally about the new variant which was first detected in India.
“There is no evidence to suggest this variant causes more severe illness than any other variant currently circulating in the UK, but it is understood to spread more easily. We’ve isolated all the cases of the variant which we’ve identified locally, but we can’t take any chances and we need to take further action.
“Surge testing is a really effective way of detecting and isolating cases and we’re working hard to start this in Kirklees and will announce details early next week.
“We will continue to work with government and partners in the NHS to increase vaccine take up and how we can support residents more to isolate. In the meantime, I’m urging everyone in Kirklees to be extra cautious and stick to the public guidance.
“Deaths and hospitalisations related to the virus remain at a low level in Kirklees with our successful start to the vaccine rollout having an impact. But we have to make sure our infection rate does not continue to increase and lead to these numbers rising too.
“We all need to continue to play our part so we can get Kirklees through the roadmap out of lockdown safely.
“Thank you all for play your part.”
This week’s COVID-19 News:
- More than 70% of adults in the UK have been vaccinated with the first dose of a coronavirus jab. Health services across the UK have now administered a total of 57.8 million vaccines in the last five months, including 36.9 million people with their first dose (70.2%) and 20.8 million with both doses (39.6%), ensuring they have the most vital protection against COVID-19 from a second dose.
- People in the UK will be able to travel to Spain freely from Monday with no restriction and no coronavirus testing. The Spanish government has opted to add the UK and Japan to the list of countries whose residents will not be subject to coronavirus restrictions.
- Matt Hancock revealed Kirklees would implement surge testing and increase vaccinations following the Indian COVID-19 variant increase in the region.
- A 21-year-old man is to be tried for breaching the coronavirus self-isolation rules and assaulting two police officers. Mohammed Junaid, the Heckmondwike local, will be tried for failure to comply with a direction to remain at their home address.
- Kirklees Council has revealed that all outdoor gatherings will need to through the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) process to meet the required guideline to work within the government law. Local residents are required to provide details: Risks assessment and information regarding the plan of the day – this will be assessed through the SAG before permission is given.