Covid update for Cornwall and beyond

The UK has today recorded 1,564 Covid deaths, the highest number so far. By that measure, the total deaths is 84,767 or, depending on which newspapers you read and which interpretation of the stats, over 100,000.

It’s a very high number, meaning there are sadly many grieving families out there. The prime minister has also warned there was a “very substantial” risk of intensive care capacity being “overtopped”.

So, let’s take our daily look at what was happening in Cornwall recently; today, it’s for the 7 days ending on 8th January.

Cornwall and Isle of Scilly cases hit 2069. In Devon, the number was 1786. The rolling rate remains lower in Devon than in Cornwall, but Torridge’s figures have risen to 83. South and mid-Devon have the highest numbers, while in Cornwall, the hotspots for this period were Newquay, Wadebridge, St Austell, Truro and spots like Hayle, Penzance, Camborne and Redruth.

Closer to home, Camelford and Tresmeer figures hit 26 but Launceston dropped to 22. Crackington and Tintagel sat on 8, while Bude and Stratton had 10. Poundstock and Kilkhampton recorded 9 cases, while Holsworthy, Bradworthy and Welcome had 10. Hartland Coast was down to 5.

Numbers are high in other parts of the country. If we look at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, for example, cases hit 3526, while the Isle of Wight, which in December was tier 1 like Cornwall, sat at 1661 cases. London is still highly problematic, and cases in Birmingham reached 9,201. Compared to the south-east, north-east, Midlands and north-west, Cornwall and Devon are doing relatively well – for now. Bear in mind the figures are almost a week behind the fact.

The Telegraph is more upbeat, saying:

Hospital admissions for coronavirus in London and the South-East have fallen for the first time in a month amid hopes that Britain is beginning to move past the peak of the current wave.

The most recent figures show that, on Sunday, rolling seven-day admissions for London had dropped by 131 cases to 5,919 – the first decrease recorded since December 2.

Daily admissions in the capital appear to have peaked on January 7, when 524 people were taken to hospital with Covid, but fell to 473 by the weekend. In the South-East, 716 new admissions were recorded on January 6, but that dropped to 583 by Sunday, the most recent regional breakdown shows.

It is hoped that with the roll out of the vaccine, plus the impact of lockdown which should start to kick in soon in terms of numbers of infections, we should see those numbers reducing in the weeks ahead. The official government website does show a decline in people testing positive today (47,525) a drop of 7.2%.

Estimated R number for the healthcare region of South West

1.1 to 1.5 with a daily infection growth rate range of +2% to +8% as of 8 January 2021.

For now, the advice remains the same. Try to stay home and stay safe.