People in Cambridgeshire urged to get double jabbed as Covid cases take sharp rise

Health bosses in Cambridgeshire say the number Covid cases there have risen sharply, with rates almost as high now as they were in January. 

There's been an almost 40% rise in Fenland alone in the past week.

Councillors say they are also concerned that the number of people who have had both doses of a vaccine is well below the national average. The rate for Cambridge is even lower.

There are currently 310.3 cases per 100,000 population, which is a 14.2% increase on the same time last week. 

There have been sharp rises across all districts, including:

• 36.8% in East Cambridgeshire

• 39.8% in Fenland

Cambridge has the highest rate of 389.4 cases per 100,000 population.

These rates are also higher than the national average which is 306.4 cases per 100,000 population, and the regional average which is 264.5 per 100,000. 

Cambridgeshire County Council's Director of Public Health, Jyoti Atri, says it's important for young people to get vaccinated too because even if they don't get ill from the virus, they could pass it onto someone more vulnerable.

It comes as teenagers and young people across the county are being encouraged to keep testing for coronavirus in the run up to the new school term.

The council are calling on young people to:

• Get vaccinated if they are eligible.

• Follow regular hand washing and respiratory hygiene routines

• Test regularly even if no symptoms are obvious

• Isolate and take a PCR test if symptoms emerge

• Meet outdoors if possible, ventilate indoor spaces well

• Be careful when visiting vulnerable people

• First Covid jabs administered to 16 and 17-year-olds in Northamptonshire

• Covid: All 16 and 17-year-olds in England to be offered first vaccine by August 23

From the start of the new term in September, schools will no longer have to form bubbles, and start and finish times will no longer be staggered.

Secondary school and college students will be required to take two on-site tests 3-5 days apart at the start of term, followed by twice weekly testing at home. This will be reviewed at the end of September.

• 'School bubbles and isolation' to come to an end

In Peterborough, the local council are urging young people to do the same, and say they want to see a return to normality for school children where possible.

Read more:

• The latest coronavirus infection rate where you live in the Anglia region

• How many people in the Anglia region have had the Covid vaccine so far?

• Covid: Test and trace to replace self-isolation for school bubbles