Covid: Cumbria health official 'positive' as cases drop by half

• Video report by Andrew Misra

New cases of Covid-19 in Cumbria continued to decrease in week ending 30 July, dropping by 53% to 1162.

While the number of tests conducted also continued to fall, the number of tests that came back positive also fell.

The overall case rate dropped to 206/100k, well below the England average of 288/100k. In terms of age groups, the case rate remained highest among 19–24-year-olds at 546/100k.

Provisional data for the current week shows infections now falling at a slower rate, with slight rises in some areas. This reflects what is being seen nationally.

92% of the 18+ population have now had their first vaccine dose, with 76% having received both doses.

33 new patients were admitted to hospital across the county’s two NHS Trusts with Covd-19 in week ending 3 August, down from 41 the previous week.

Colin Cox, Cumbria’s Director of Public Health, said:

“We continue to see a rapid decline in cases, with Cumbria declining at a faster rate than nationally. We’ve also seen a reduction in the overall number admitted to hospital. This is all really positive, and Cumbria seems to be in a better position now than many other parts of the country.

“The infection rate remains relatively high though, so I’d still recommend people take the basic precautions of masks in indoors spaces, hand washing, avoiding crowds where possible and if you are one of the few who have not yet done so, get vaccinated.

“We are still in uncharted territory and we will need to see where this bottoms out, but the signs are good at the moment.”

The weekly COVID-19 situation report for Cumbria can be found at www.cumbria.gov.uk/stopthespread.