Northamptonshire COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance Report • A total of 285 Northamptonshire residents have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week • Mixing between households continues to be the greatest cause of transmission locally • The most positive tests in the last week were found in 10 to 19 year olds, closely followed by 30 to 39 year olds • Corby still has one of the highest case rates in England at 55.4 per 100,000 population but this continues to reduce • Wellingborough has overtaken Corby with one of the highest rates in England at 62.7 per 100,000 population Data up to 18 April 2021 Four Step Roadmap th Step 1 Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 On Monday 12 April residents of Northamptonshire 8-29 Changes Not before Not before 17 May Not before and across England took Step 2 on the four-step March on 29 March 12 April *Review of social 21 June ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown. The next step will not be distancing before 17 May and will only be taken if the COVID-19 Children back to Rule of 6 or 2 Opening of non- Most legal restrictions on Government hopes to be data shows that it is safe to do so. School/College households meet essential shops meeting others outdoors in a position to remove all outdoors hairdressers, will be lifted, although legal limits on social gyms, zoos, gatherings of over 30 contact holiday campsites people will remain illegal. and personal care Indoors, the ‘Rule of 6’ or Only when the government is sure that it is safe to services 2 households will apply move from each step to the next will the final decision be made. The decision will be based on four tests: Outdoor Outdoor activity Funerals up to 30 Most businesses in all Government hopes to • The vaccine deployment programme continues recreation/exercis facilities open and mourners. but the highest risk reopen remaining successfully e with one person formally organised Weddings, sectors will be able to premises, including outside your outdoor sports receptions and reopen nightclubs, and ease the • Evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective household commemorative restrictions on large in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those events 15 events and performances vaccinated that apply in Step 3 • Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable Care home End of ‘stay at Hospitality Up to 30 people will be pressure on the NHS residents – one home’ rule but work venues serve able to attend weddings, regular visitor from home if can people outdoors receptions and wakes, as • Assessment of the risks is not fundamentally and no holidays well as funerals changed by new Variants of Concern 2 Step 2: Current Rules and Guidance 3 Take Care in the Open Air • Have you heard about our COVID -19 safety awareness campaign called ‘Take care in the Open air’? • We want to remind residents to stay alert and stay 2m apart, avoid face to face and physical contact, not to share drinks, avoid shouting and to be aware of surface transmission while outside. • In a bid to stop the spread we are also advising residents to contactless payments where possible, sanitise/ wash their hands and discard face coverings safely in the bin. 4 Everything We Do Is Stopping The Spread • Anyone in England can now get regular rapid lateral flow tests without having symptoms. About one in three people with coronavirus do not have symptoms but can still infect others. Getting regular tests is the only way to know if you have the virus and if people test positive and self-isolate, it helps stop the virus spreading. We are urging you to test yourself regularly if you are somebody who goes out to work, is responsible for a child who attends secondary school, is visiting a care home or will be in the company of those who might be vulnerable to the virus. It’s the only way to really know if you are infectious and to keep the people around you safe. It takes thirty minutes for a result and the more you do it, the easier it gets. Testing will be a part of normal life for the foreseeable future in Northamptonshire and across the nation – let’s just get on with it and make it part of our day-to-day routine. • Make sure you get the first and second dose of the vaccination when the call comes. The latest analysis shows that the COVID-19 vaccinations are continuing to prevent hundreds of hospital admissions and deaths nationally every day. Second doses are crucial to maximising the strength and duration of your protection from COVID-19. The not so good news is that while the vaccines have a striking impact on mortality, we don’t confidently know yet how much these vaccines will reduce the risk of you passing COVID-19 onto others. So, even if you have been vaccinated, it is really important that you continue to act like you have the virus and be careful with those around you. Care home and domiciliary staff who haven’t yet received their first dose are now able to use the national NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Booking Service – call 119 or visit www.nhs.uk/covidvaccination, to book an appointment – they will need to take a form of ID to their appointment. For pregnant women reading this: We encourage them to discuss the risks and benefits with their clinician. Please note that there have been no specific safety concerns identified with any brand of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines in relation to pregnancy however, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises that it’s preferable for pregnant women in the UK to be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines where available. There is no evidence to date to suggest that other vaccines are unsafe for pregnant women, but more research is needed and, in the meantime, these two are preferable. • We all know by now that we need to follow the mantra ‘Hands. Face. Space. Fresh Air’ as we go about our daily lives, get our first and second dose of the vaccination when called, get tested regularly and isolate immediately if the result is positive. It’s still really important to socially distance by 2 metres when we are meeting people outdoors who are not in our household or care bubble. The further you can keep away from other people, the less likely you are to catch COVID-19 and pass it on to others. The closer you are to a person with COVID-19 (even those without symptoms), the more likely you are to become infected. It's all of our responsibility to ensure that we progress to step three, and finally step four. On the government’s ‘roadmap.’ It is wholly dependent upon the data and not the dates set out by government so, let’s keep on keeping on! It is within our gift to stop the virus from taking hold again. We can, and we will, get back to some sense of normality soon if we all work together. 5 Free Rapid COVID-19 Testing • Everyone in Northamptonshire can now access free, regular, rapid coronavirus testing. The tests are available for home use or at test centres, workplaces and schools. You can get these tests from your local test site, pharmacies or order them on gov.uk and get home deliveries. The test is called a Lateral Flow Test and involves a swab of the mouth and nose and provides a result within 30 minutes. • The aim of testing people who do not have COVID-19 symptoms is to identify those who may be infectious without being aware in order to reduce spread of the virus. If positive, the test means you are infectious and must start self-isolating at home immediately and complete 10 days of self-isolation. • The test does not tell you if you are COVID-free so all COVID-secure measures must be exercised even if you get a negative result. You must continue to follow COVID guidelines and remember to wash your hands, wear a face covering indoors and maintain a 2m distance from others. • Testing slots must be booked online in advance and priority is given to those who are unable to work from home and/or adults in a childcare support bubble. It is advisable for those people working in these sectors to take up the opportunity to get tested at least on a weekly basis, if possible, twice weekly to help to reduce the spread of the virus. • Nine COVID-19 Rapid Testing Centres are open in Northamptonshire for adults who are not showing symptoms of COVID-19. Information leaflets at the sites are available in English, Lithuanian and Romanian, Russian and Polish. • The community-based testing sites, as well as being a collection point for test kit orders, are at: • Danes Camp Leisure Centre, Northampton • Lodge Park Sports Centre and Hazelwood Neighbourhood Centre, Corby • Brackley Leisure Centre, South Northamptonshire • Redwell Leisure Centre, Wellingborough • Daventry Leisure Centre, Daventry • The University of Northampton, Northampton - restricted to use by students and university staff only • North Pavilion Drive, Kettering • A “pop-up” centre is now open at Hall Park, Rushden Hall, the first of its kind within Northamptonshire 6 Got Symptoms? Get Tested • To find out more information about local testing sites visit: Northamptonshire COVID-19 Testing Update. • Tests can be booked online at NHS COVID-19 or by calling 119. Home testing kits can also be ordered subject to availability.