5 coronavirus updates for Wiltshire

From schools to the local Test and Trace, Kate Blackburn, the council's director for public health, talked about the latest data for Wiltshire and what trends have been indentified.

So what did we learn from it?

UPDATE - Wiltshire placed into tier two

1. Cases are rising and we don't know why

Wiltshire cases by specimen date. Credit: government coronavirus dashboard

While the rate of new cases for the county remains lower than the average for the South West and England, infections have continued to rise throughout the second lockdown.

Interestingly, after a steep rise in October, cases plateaued during the first two weeks of November but have since started to rise again. 

The hope is that the impact of the lockdown, due to end on December 2, will become more evident in the next few days.

But the fact we are yet to see a drop in cases is "worrying" and can't really be explained.

Wiltshire Council insists that compliance has been very good from residents and businesses and that it's now a "waiting game" to see whether everyone's efforts are reflected in the figures.

2. 15-24 year olds are the worst-hit group

Young people remain the worst affected group, however, cases are rising across all age groups.

Crucially, cases are also continuing to rise in the over 60s - something Ms Blackburn said is very concerning due to elderly people being more vulnerable to the virus.

The spread of coronavirus across the county remains "even" with no particular hotspots or areas of concern being identified so far.

3. Local Test and Trace is now underway

Thirteen Wiltshire Council staff are now running a local Test and Trace system to compliment the national effort.

This means that positive cases that the national NHS Test and Trace can't reach are passed on to the local team in Wiltshire.

The system was launched last week and since then contact tracers have contacted 20 out of the 37 contacts they have been passed on by the national Test and Trace.

4. More than 4,000 pupils are self-isolating

The number of pupils self-isolating as a result of coronavirus cases has almost doubled in the past week.

As of Tuesday (November 24), Ms Blackburn said 4,135 students and 189 members of staff are currently self-isolating across the county.

The total number of "unique educational settings" which also include childminders, nurseries and independent boarding schools affected is 51, across which 71 infections were recorded.

Ms Blackburn reiterated that transmission within schools is minimal and pupils or staff members who test positive for coronavirus are usually infected in the community.

Activities such as sleepovers during half term contributed to the rise in cases across schools, she said, but numbers should now start to drop.

5. Another public briefing will take place next month

A reminder for the public that Wiltshire Council is hosting its second public briefing at 5pm on Tuesday December 8.

This will be hosted by the leader of the council, Cllr Philip Whitehead, Kate Blackburn and Chief Executive Terence Herbert.

Anyone who wishes to submit a question should do so by emailing communications@wiltshire.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Sunday December 6.