Covid: Infections up in Cumbria and the Scottish Borders
Covid-19 infection rates increased by a fifth across Cumbria last week and by almost 15 per cent in the Scottish Borders, according to newly published figures.
In the week ending August 13, infections went up from 1,056 to 1,266 in Cumbria, with all six of the county's districts.
North of the Border, for August 9-15, there were 193 cases in the Scottish Borders, up 14 per cent on previous week.
This news comes after Dumfries and Galloway was announced as having the highest infection rate in Scotland.
This reflects the national picture, which shows rising case rates across the UK.
Allerdale had the greatest number of new cases with 262.
Barrow-in-Furness overtook Copeland for second place in having the highest rate of new cases with 362 new cases per 100,000 people. Rates in Barrow-in-Furness and Copeland were above both the national and regional average rates (307 and 301 new cases per 100,000 of the population respectively).
In the Borders the rate was 167.5 cases per 100,000 people.
In Cumbria, 35 new patients were admitted to hospital across the county’s two NHS trusts with Covid-19 in the seven days up to August 17, a small drop from 36 the previous week. Data from the same period showed 86 per cent of Cumbrians aged 15 or over have received their first vaccine dose and 77 per cent their second.
Colin Cox, Cumbria’s director of public health, said: “We’ve seen a bit of a rise this week in new cases and it remains to be seen if this is a trend or just a small spike.
“It’s important to remember that while the rules around self-isolation have changed for people who are double jabbed and are close contacts of a positive case, it is still the case that if you have Covid symptoms you should get a PCR test, and if you test positive you must self-isolate for 10 days – irrespective of your vaccination status. This remains a crucial part of the strategy to keep infection at manageable levels.
Read more