Portsmouth must be 'very careful' as Covid-19 cases increase
A POLITICIAN in charge of health in Portsmouth has said people must be ‘very careful’ as Covid-19 cases are increasing.
It comes as the R (reproduction) number raised to between 1 and 1.2 for the first time since March while the number of new daily confirmed UK cases of the virus rose to 3,539 on Friday – an increase of more than 600 on the previous day.
Data released by the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) revealed the latest findings.
Any number above one indicates the number of infections is increasing.
In the week to September 8 there were 30 cases in Portsmouth, with an infection rate of 14 per 100,000 population.
Overall, there have been 592 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the city, with a rate of 275.5 cases per 100,000 resident population.
City health councillor, Matthew Winnington, told The News that the city reflected the national R rate but said the increase announced by the government was not unexpected.
‘We always expected we would have a second wave from September onwards - that’s what all the public health circles have been saying,’ he said.
‘The rate is expected to go up for some time but it will not be like at the beginning.
‘Last week was the most cases we’ve had since late May which was very concerning but not a surprise. The government have been saying we should be prepared for a second wave.’
Cllr Winnington said the city is in good shape with its Local Outbreak Plan that involves all key authorities working together to nullify any sudden spike if it occurs - with him also admitting lockdown is always a ‘possibility’.
‘If there is an outbreak we will assess it and if needed will take action or have a lockdown,’ he said.
‘If we do have a lockdown then we hope to do it in a very targeted way.’
Despite the worrying climate, the councillor said the authority ‘had the lowest rate’ compared to others in the county and Isle of Wight.
‘We’ve only had 22 cases of coronavirus in Portsmouth in the last seven days and these have been skewed by the outbreak onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth,’ Cllr Winnington said.
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He criticised the government for ‘confusing’ messages about encouraging people to go out to places like pubs and restaurants and to go back to work before making it illegal for groups of over six people to meet up from Monday.
Cllr Winnington urged the people of Portsmouth to maintain their ‘fantastic’ efforts in helping to fight the virus. ‘Covid-19 is very much alive and the numbers are up in Portsmouth and nationally so we have to be very careful,’ he said.
‘People need to remember we are in the middle of a pandemic and there is no vaccine and we still have testing capacity issues.
‘We have a good testing system in the city which is unparalleled but we all still need to socially distance, wear masks, wash our hands and be careful.
‘If we can get through this without having to go into a local lockdown it will be a success. It only takes one super-spreader to cause an outbreak.
‘People have been fantastic in the city but we still all need to pull together.’