Calderdale at 'critical risk' as Covid infection rates rise and pressure grows on hospital

Calderdale’s COVID-19 case rate, although lower than many local authorities is now rising, with a 59 per cent increase in cases over the previous week, as it entered national lockdown.

NHS Digital seven-day interval summary data from December 27, 2020, to January 2, 2021, shows Calderdale’s case rate to be 279 per 100,000 people with 590 cases.

In the previous period from December 21 to 27 it was 180.7 per 100,000, itself an increase over the seven days prior to that when the case rate was 140 per 100,000.

The December 27, 2020, to January 2, 2021, data also shows Calderdale had a 56 per cent increase in triages – the number of calls from people who think they may have coronavirus to the various NHS lines – with 237, a triage rate of 112 per 100,000 of people

Councillor Tim Swift, Calderdale Council’s Leader, said: “COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly in Calderdale and there is growing pressure on the hospital. We are at critical risk if we don’t step up the action we’ve been taking in recent months.

“In line with government guidance we’ve made some additional changes to our services to protect staff and our communities. We all need to take the simple actions of staying at home, limiting contact with others, wearing face coverings, self-isolating when necessary and washing our hands.

“We continue to work with our partners in the NHS to support the rollout of the vaccines, and many people will already have received their first dose. As more of our most vulnerable residents get vaccinated, the more hope we have of returning to some kind of normality this year. We also have a strong local test and trace system in Calderdale, which is performing better than the national and regional average.”

In today's update the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust said it currently has 79 inpatients who have tested positive for Covid-19, seven of whom are being cared for in the Intensive Care Units.

Calderdale Council’s Director for Public Health, Deborah Harkins, said: “Although we’ve been living under restrictions in Calderdale for some time, unfortunately we now return to a period of strict national lockdown.

“COVID-19 rates are increasing across the country and in Calderdale. Since Christmas we’ve seen a rapid rise in the number of cases in the borough and our local NHS is under pressure.

“Worryingly, the new variant is also present in Calderdale, although thankfully cases of this new strain are currently lower than in other parts of the country. It’s critical that we do all we can to keep it this way.

“We must all stay at home. This is the single most important action we can all take to protect ourselves, our communities, the NHS and save lives. The situation is serious and we all have a responsibility to do all we can to keep everyone as safe as possible.”