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Health chief advises caution and getting booster to protect Christmas
17/12/2021
COVID figures reach highest rate across Oxfordshire
“Let’s make this Christmas one to remember – for all the right reasons” – that’s the message from Oxfordshire’s Public Health chief as we are urged to get vaccinated and take extra precautions to help us reach the festive season free of COVID.
Official figures show cases in the county are now higher than at any other point during the pandemic with the rate currently standing at 753.6 per 100,000 people. The new Omicron variant is playing an increasing role in the figures both locally and nationally.
Up to last Friday there were 939 new cases in the Banbury FM area during the previous seven-day period.
Ansaf Azhar, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director for Public Health, said: “Getting tested regularly … remains of huge importance, especially with cases in Oxfordshire currently being at such a high level. This means you can visit a relative at Christmas with greater assurance that you are not going to give them an unwelcome festive gift in the shape of COVID.
“We also continue to encourage people to draw on that huge catalogue of knowledge we have built up about how to manage the risk of COVID in our daily lives, from wearing face coverings in crowded places to washing hands regularly and ventilating rooms with fresh air.
“However, one of the most important things we can do is to take care with the overall number of people we mix with. If you mix with fewer people, you have reduced chances of contracting the virus. This is why the government has enacted its Plan B asking people to work from home where they can. By combining such behaviour with getting vaccinated and testing regularly, we will all give ourselves a greater chance of having a COVID-free Christmas.
“There is just over a week until Christmas now – and this is the time to negotiate our way through as safely as we can to protect ourselves and help stop the spread of the virus. Let’s make this Christmas one to remember – for all the right reasons.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam