The latest Covid-19 data for Buckinghamshire reveals that once again cases are on the rise, with a 27% increase week on week – and 13 people have died.
Cases had been falling in mid-January and it’s difficult to say what’s driving this swift reversal of fortunes. 6,274 new cases were recorded this week compared to 4,938 last week.
It may be that a delayed impact of children returning to school is responsible, it could be people dropping their guard prematurely following reporting of imminent restriction changes a couple of weeks ago, or perhaps a combination of both.
Whatever the reason, the consequence is that the case rate per 100,000 people has again risen above a thousand to 1,146.9.
Sadly, the region has also reported more deaths in a week than at any time since March last year. 13 people have died with Covid-19, the latest weekly data shows.
64.1% of those eligible in Buckinghamshire have now had their booster shot, which experts say is critical for fighting the new variant. This is roughly in line with the overall UK figure of 64.4%.
The UK Health Security Agency is monitoring a new sub-variant of Omicron, called “Stealth Omicron” which early data suggests is even more transmissible than the first strain of Omicron and is also thought to better evade vaccines. It is currently marked as a “variant under investigation.”
426 cases of Stealth Omicron have been identified across the UK at the time of writing, but the real number is expected to be significantly higher.
Anyone who develops one of the three main Covid-19 symptoms - a new cough, a high temperature or a loss of taste or smell - should stay at home, self-isolate and take a PCR test.
Please click here or call 119 to book a Covid-19 vaccination.
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