Agenda item

The Board considered a presentation from Matt Pearce (Agenda Item 4) on the Covid-19 Situational Report. Key points from the presentation were:

·         There had been an exponential increase in cases in the last two weeks with over 90,000 cases announced on the day of the meeting.

·         Omicron was the variant causing 80% of cases in London, and accounted for 40-50% of cases in the South East and West Berkshire.

·         Testing rates were increasing with some pressure on the Newbury Showground test site, but capacity was being increased.

·         9.9% of test results were positive in the most recent 7 day period.

·         There were 557.9 cases per 100,000 population amongst the general population which was similar to the South East average and lower than the England average.

·         Amongst the 60+ age group the figure was 165.9 per 100,000 population.

·         The most recent data for West Berkshire showed a 21.7% increase in the 7-day case rate.

·         There were high case rates across a broad range of age groups, particularly the 35-50 age group.

·         Rates were lower amongst older people.

·         High case rates were not reflected in hospital admissions – the latest figures showed 24 Covid patients in the Royal Berkshire hospital, 3 new patients admitted and 1 on mechanical ventilation.

·         The majority of Covid patients in emergency care were unvaccinated and this trend became more pronounced amongst older age groups.

·         There had been no Covid-related deaths in the last week.

·         There had been a national high demand for Lateral Flow Devices, driven by the national policy for seven days of testing for vaccinated contacts of a Covid-19 case.

·         There had been some short-term logistical issues with the online ordering system, which had been resolved.

·         The Council’s Targeted Community Testing Programme had been expanded, with more testing crews, a new static site at the Kennet Centre and a facility supporting the Hungerford pop-up clinic.

·         More home LFD test kits had been ordered for the Community Testing Programme.

·         Omicron had become the dominant variant in the UK with a doubling time of two to three days.

·         There was evidence that it was immune evasive and very transmissible.

·         People were 5 times more likely to be infected with Omicron than Delta.

·         Current vaccines were estimated to protect against severe Covid related  illness, hospitalisations and deaths. However, breakthrough infections were expected amongst fully vaccinated people.

·         There was limited evidence as to whether Omicron was less severe and a high infection rate was expected to lead to an increase in hospitalisations and deaths.

·         Testing, vaccinations and non-pharmaceutical interventions remained critical.

The Chairman asked to what extent the UK would be able to live with Covid, how long ongoing boosters would be needed and when we would reach a situation there were no hospitalisations.

Matt Pearce acknowledged that people were tired and that Christmas would influence how they would behave. He noted that there were still lots of people who had not been vaccinated yet, which would lead to pressure on hospitals if they were to get Covid. He considered that there would be an ongoing need for regular boosters. He hoped that Covid would become less severe in the longer-term.

Katie Summers noted that vaccines could not be offered to anyone who had tested positive in the preceding 28 days. She indicated that it would be helpful to have figures to inform the likely demand for vaccines. She also noted that the design of lateral flow tests had changed and suggested that there should be some public communications about the change.

Matt Pearce indicated that the Public Health Team would work with local pharmacies to ensure that they were communicating the changes to residents and they would work with the Council’s Communications Team to get the message out.

Councillor Steve Masters asked about confidence in the ability of Lateral Flow Devices to detect the Omicron variant and if there were any false negative test results being given. Matt Pearce had asked the National and Regional Teams about this and there had been no increase in false negatives as had been experienced following the issues with the Immensa lab. He also reported that the UK Health Security Agency had undertaken some analysis, which had shown that LFDs were as effective at detecting the Omicron variant as they had been with detecting the Delta variant.

Councillor Masters asked if people should self-isolate if living in a household with confirmed cases. Matt Pearce confirmed that for fully vaccinated individuals, national guidance advocated daily LFD tests for seven days. The Chairman suggested that this change should be picked up in Council communications

Councillor Dominic Boeck noted that he had been able to place an online order for LFD kits with delivery scheduled in three days

Councillor Lynne Doherty asked when there would be more conclusive data about the impact of the Omicron variant. Matt Pearce indicated that London would be a good marker, since 80% of cases were currently related to the Omicron variant and this should show up in hospital admissions within a week. He noted that West Berkshire was a little behind London in terms of Omicron transmission.

Councillor Doherty noted that about 50% of people aged 18+ had received the booster jab, but asked if the data for hospitalisation rated only showed those who were double vaccinated. Matt Pearce confirmed that was correct and that it related to Delta rather than Omicron. He noted that there were challenges in the terminology used and who was eligible for a booster jab.

Councillor Doherty indicated that it would be interesting to see hospitalisation rates for those who had received both doses plus a booster jab. Matt Pearce confirmed that the booster offered significant additional protection and this should be reflected in future statistics.

The Chairman stressed the importance of data about hospitalisation rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.