Agenda item

Matt Pearce provided an update on the Covid-19 situation in West Berkshire. He stated that all data presented was correct as of the 01 March 2021. He also noted that the slides being presented were now in line with the rest of Berkshire and would be published on the Berkshire Public Health website.

Restrictions:

·       The whole of Berkshire remained in a national lockdown

·       Further information could be found via:

https://www.berkshirepublichealth.co.uk/covid-19-dashboard

Situational awareness (data correct for the week 1^st March 2021):

• He noted that over the last week case rates of Covid-19 had continued to decrease in all Berkshire local authorities.

·       So far there had been 6083 cases of Covid-19 in West Berkshire since the start of the pandemic and 113 of these had been in the last week.

·       The rate per 100,000 has decreased and now stands at 71.3. The positivity rate had dropped to 3.7%.

Deaths:

• In West Berkshire there had been 224 COVID-19 related deaths during the whole pandemic.  120 of these were in hospital and 88 were in a care home. In the last week reported (5^th – 12^th February), there were 5 COVID-19 related deaths recorded.
• Since March 2020, West Berkshire’s all-cause mortality rate had been 19% higher than the previous 5 year average, which equated to 219 additional deaths.

Hospital activity:

• The number of admissions for Covid-19 patients is starting to slowly decrease in Royal Berkshire Foundation Trust hospitals. There were 11 admissions on 31st January.
• On 2nd February, 201 patients were in RBFT hospitals for COVID-19 and 28 (14%) of these were on mechanical ventilation.

Schools and testing:

·        Schools will have access to LFT from March 8

·       Three tests undertaken on school site for all secondary aged children

·       Many schools were commencing testing on w/c 1^st March to ease pressure and promote a staggered return to school

·       Moving to home testing for families and support bubbles from March 15

·       For home testing- a positive LFT would then also require a confirmatory PCR test, but isolation rules should be followed if a successful LFT

·       Local authorities would help with providing home kit distribution (along with online ordering)- details to follow soon

Measures to prevent Covid-19

• Following simple steps could make a significant difference in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 and help protect you and your friends, colleagues and family from the virus:
• Follow Government Guidance
• HANDS FACE SPACE
• This emphasises important elements of the guidance we want everybody to remember - wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, use a face covering in shops and enclosed public spaces and try to keep 2 metres apart from those not in your household.
• Testing and Self Isolating: If you have symptoms, Isolate and book and test

Local information and communications:

• New Vaccination Webpage:
• To help drive awareness and provide support to local residents of Berkshire, we have created a new vaccine section on our website which features a wealth of information and engaging visuals which you can visit here:
• https://www.berkshirepublichealth.co.uk/vaccinations
• The new page is split into three key sections:
• 1. What you need to know about the vaccines 
• 2. Questions and answers 
• 3. Range of video stories from people sharing valuable advice about the vaccination programme and the importance of getting vaccinated.