Calderdale Covid-19 infection rates now higher than Leicester and Blackburn

The Council's Director of Public Health Deborah Harkins has made a plea to the people of Calderdale to tackle COVID-19.

In parts of Halifax particularly, the infection rates are amongst the very highest in the country she said.

The health chief also said there are no areas in Leicester, Blackburn with Darwen or Luton, where the infection rates are higher than those we can see in some parts of Halifax.

Infection rates in Calderdale are currently increasing faster than in any other borough in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

She also also said it was clear restrictions were lifted too quickly.

Here is her message to the people of Calderdale:

"Being the voice of doom doesn’t come naturally to me. I try to find the positives in every situation, even being treated with a life-threatening illness! But I’m sorry to say that I’m writing this today to stress how serious the situation in Calderdale is, and to ask for your help to tackle COVID-19.

"I have been out and about in the borough, talking and listening to people in our communities, and I have heard from many people how shocked they are that COVID-19 is still here with us.

"I heard that people made enormous sacrifices to keep infection rates low, and when the restrictions were lifted in June, they believed that things would start to return to normal and we could all start to enjoy the things we used to take for granted. People in high incidence areas told me they feel stigmatised and blamed for the situation we now find ourselves in.

"There’s no evidence at all that these higher rates are because people in Calderdale are less likely to observe social distancing than people in other areas of the country; in fact, the opposite is true.

"During lockdown we had some of the lowest infection rates in the country. Although we only have limited information about how and where people become infected, the data we do have indicates that we are seeing COVID-19 cases in people who have been working in essential roles right throughout the lockdown.

"These are the people who care for us, feed us, serve us and transport us. Since lockdown has eased, these are the people who are more likely to come into contact with COVID-19. These are the people who should be celebrated rather than blamed!

I’m asking for your help today to bring the infection rate down. This is important to us all for many reasons.

"We all want to get our freedoms back so we can visit family and friends outside our households. Many of us will know people who are medically vulnerable to the serious effects of COVID-19 and will want to ensure that the infection rate remains low to protect them, as the national shielding programme ends and we prepare for the winter demands on health and care services.

"Many of us will be concerned about our children’s education and recognise that for them to be able to return to school we may need to make sacrifices in other parts of our lives.

We don’t know why each case of COVID-19 happens, but we do know what we can do to slow the spread.

"Partners in Calderdale are determined to bring our infection rate back down to the national average. Informed by the evidence gathered over many years, and learning from other areas in the current crisis, we have agreed that we will:

Help prevent COVID-19 cases and outbreaks, by:

Sharing clear and consistent messages with the public.

Engaging with communities, particularly in high incidence areas.

Supporting businesses and employers to implement COVID-secure working practices

Identify COVID-19 cases quickly, by:

Increasing the amount of testing undertaken in the borough.

Improving access to testing for residents.

Using intelligence to target testing at people in high risk areas, settings and occupations, whether or not they have symptoms.

Reduce transmission of the virus, by:

Delivering local contact tracing to enhance the national test and trace service.

Providing support to people to enable them to self-isolate.

Enforcing coronavirus restrictions.

I am asking you all to think about how you can help us achieve these objectives.

It’s also important that we all understand that if we are to successfully implement these actions, our infection rate will increase before it reduces.

"This is because we need to find more people with COVID-19, so that they can be supported to isolate to reduce the spread of the virus. This increase before the decrease has been seen in other areas that have successfully reduced the infection rate.