Small falls in COVID rate but still higher than most of 2020
11/02/2021
Public Health chief: “COVID-19 is a formidable adversary”
Another small fall in the COVID-19 infection rate was recorded locally in the seven days up to the end of last week. However we are being advised that more needs to be done to drive down the number of new cases.
Figures released yesterday show that in the week ending 5th February 151 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the Banbury FM area. During the previous seven days the number of new infections stood at 242.
The current new infections rate still remains at the same level as in mid-December and higher than for the majority of 2020.
Ansaf Azhar, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director of Public Health, said: “We’ve done a good job in getting case numbers down in Oxfordshire but the figures here and elsewhere rose to such heights in late December and early January that we still have ground to make up. Now is the time to really make an impact.
“Over the last twelve months we have seen that if you give COVID-19 an inch it will gladly take a mile. We face uncertainty around the spread of different variants and what that means for our recovery from the pandemic. We also know the new UK variant is now the dominant form in UK, and if we were to relax now the case rate will not only go up but it will go up very fast to a very high level due to its increased transmissibility.”
As shown on our COVID-19 Dashboard, there were new infections in every part of the Banbury FM area last week. Whilst many places showed a reduction in new cases there were increases in Bodicote, Adderbury and Bloxham and Cropredy, Wroxton and Shennington.
Ansaf Azhar said: “The lower we can get the figures, the better position we will be in to respond to any issues that may arise down the line. We must continue to be vigilant and keep our distance from people, wash our hands, wear a face-covering and abide by all of the lockdown restrictions on not mixing households.
“If ever there was any doubt, we know, now almost 12 months on from the first cases in Oxfordshire, that COVID-19 is a formidable adversary. It is only by taking individual responsibility for our actions that we can get ourselves into good shape as winter changes to spring. We also need to give the vaccines the very best platform to do their bit.
“I would also urge anybody who shows any symptoms to get themselves tested and if they are positive to self-isolate. There’s a lot of capacity on offer for testing and a great deal of very good advice on self-isolation. In all of these areas, we are much more advanced than we were looking back to March and April of 2020.”
The County Council say that to stop the spread people are being asked to follow the rules and get tested when they have symptoms of the virus, however mild. For those who test positive for COVID-19, help is available. Information, support and advice on self-isolation has been published on the county council’s website or residents can download the information as part of a self-isolation support pack.
People are also being asked to get vaccinated when eligible. Anyone over 70 can now arrange a vaccination through the national booking service by visiting www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination. Further information on this is available on the NHS website.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
