People in Stoke-on-Trent urged to get tested ahead of festive break
People in Stoke-on-Trent are being urged to get tested ahead of the festive break.
The advice from the city’s leading public health expert comes following news that Stoke-on-Trent remains in the top 10 for the highest number of coronavirus cases in England.
The city currently has 314.8 cases per 100,000. And while this is a slight decline on previous days, with only 92 cases reported today, numbers are not falling as quickly as had been hoped. (As of 8 December.)
Coronavirus transmission trends are also seeing more prevalence of COVID-19 cases in some parts of the city compared to others. As a result, people who live in and around Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley and Longton are being urged to take up the community testing on offer ahead of the festive break.
The public health data has also confirmed that the main cause of coronavirus continues to be community transmission where households are mixing with other households.
Dr Paul Edmondson Jones, Director of Adult Social Care, Health Integration and Wellbeing at Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: “With the Christmas break fast-approaching, it has never been more important that people follow the guidance and take up the opportunity to get tested, particularly in those areas of the city where we are seeing a higher rate of community transmission.
“While some areas within the city have been identified as having the highest levels of coronavirus, this will often reflect relatively small numbers at ward level and this means that across the city and indeed the country, there will always be variation in numbers and people are being urged to take account of many things in a local area that can cause variation to the figures. This can include care homes, houses of multiple occupation, sheltered housing blocks, extra care facilities as well as general households.”
Councillor Abi Brown, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: “Transmission of coronavirus within the city is continuing at pace and we remain the highest for COVID-19 cases in the West Midlands and in the top 10 nationally. I’ve said before that these are definitely not lists that we want to be top of and I’d urge people to do all they can to help us break this cycle. We’ve done it before and we can do it again but we need to act now to brings our cases down.”
“We have a number of lateral flow rapid testing appointments in locations across the city – it is free and gives results within 30 minutes. I’d urge everyone to take up these tests ahead of the festive period. That way people know they are playing their part in trying to kick coronavirus out of the city.”
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