COVID-19 infection rate in Warrington lower than other areas of North West

COVID-19 infection rates in Warrington and Halton are said to be lower than other areas of the North West.

Latest reports from Halton and Warrington Clinical Commissioning Groups show lower numbers of newly confirmed cases, generally under five per day in each borough. But while infection rates remain low the advice for the public remains strict stay at home and social distancing guidance.
Both Halton and Warrington continue to see lower numbers of newly confirmed cases. Figures to date show 407 confirmed cases in Halton and 780 in Warrington.
The rate of new infection in Care Homes has also reduced with a total of 336 confirmed cases across Halton and Warrington. Both CCGs and the Local Authority Partners continue to work together to provide support to Care Homes and a local Care Home Board has been established to oversee a number of actions and activities to continue to support care homes in the coming weeks and months.
Warrington South MP Andy Carter says he has been contacted by a number of constituents following reports of the R number for the North West being above 1.
He said: “I’ve had quite a few messages asking for information on the R level in Warrington, I suspect as a result of coverage of published data for the North West.
“The R value tells you how many infections each infected person passes the virus on to, on average. For an R above 1, the epidemic increases exponentially; below 1 it will eventually fizzle out. In the absence of direct measures of this elusive number, modellers have to rely on what firm data we have and extrapolate from there.
“The smaller the area the more problematic the data set. Looking at confirmed cases, covid-19 ICU occupancy and deaths at Warrington hospital this week there has been a sustained fall in all categories compared to previous weeks.
“All of this said, maintaining 2m social distancing, washing hands and following Government guidance remains vitally important. We haven’t beaten this virus yet and only a sustained effort will pay off in the long term.”

Meanwhile as part of the national response to COVID-19, antibody testing is now available in Cheshire and Merseyside for NHS staff and some patients.
Laboratory-based tests will be used in the first phase of the antibody testing programme to tell whether that person has already had the virus. To avoid putting additional pressure on phlebotomy services, the roll out of antibody testing will begin in NHS settings whereblood is already being taken.
Patients who are already having blood taken as part of other tests will be asked whether they would like an antibody test. The test will also be offered to NHS staff regardless of their role, employers will notify staff of where and when testing is available, and how to access the service.
It should be noted that there is no strong evidence yet to suggest that those who have had the virus develop long lasting immunity which would prevent them from getting the virus again. Antibody
testing at this stage is useful primarily to improve our understanding about the spread of the virus.

Actions being taken locally
NHS Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Halton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Halton Borough Council and Warrington Borough Council are working closely with local NHS providers, Public Health England (PHE), NHS England and other partner organisations to continue to effectively manage the situation locally.
The System Response Group (SAG) continues to meet each week. The SAG is Chaired by the Joint Director of Public Health and the membership of the group includes senior representatives from NHS Warrington CCG, NHS Halton CCG, Warrington Borough Council, Halton Borough Council, Public Health and our main NHS providers.

NHS Halton CCG and NHS Warrington CCG
The local Incident Control Room continues to operate 7 days a week is overseeing and co-ordinating the response for NHS Halton CCG and NHS Warrington CCG.
Both NHS Halton CCG and NHS Warrington CCG are focusing on the requirements of Phase 2 and the recovery phase of the pandemic, working closely with all providers and partners.
During this next phase it is important that we review and consider what we have learned from the pandemic and what has worked well, ensuring that this is built upon as the re-starting of services continues.

Primary Care
Antibody testing is being offered to all staff in General Practice. The testing is part of a Cheshire and Merseyside epidemiology study to understand how long an antibody response to the virus lasts, whether having antibodies means a person cannot transmit the virus to others and so that the understanding of the virus will grow as new scientific evidence and studies emerge.
As we are now in the second phase of the pandemic, NHS England has released version 3 of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). The total triage system continues to be in place across all Practices along with patient zoning for COVID and Non COVID symptoms. The SOP also details how Practices should be focused on the restoration of routine chronic condition management and prevention wherever possible, including vaccination and immunisation, contraception and health checks.
The CCG Primary Care Team are supporting the Clinical Directors of the Networks, and practices, to ensure the safe delivery of primary care services for both patient and staff continues.
A review of the primary care face to face assessments centres for COVID, is taking place. The review will focus on outcomes and will include recommendations for the ongoing zoning of COVID and NonCOVID patients.

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
To date the Trust has tested total of 5,795 patients (inpatients and community) of which 1,089 have tested positive, which is an increase of 39 positive tests in the last week. The Trust is currently caring for 46 patients who have tested positive for Covid-19, a reduction of two from last week.
Three patients are currently in ICU, again a reduction of two from last week and a total of 320 patients have now been discharged, which is an increase of 28 discharges since last week. Sadly, to date a total of 124 patients have died.
Staff absence due to Covid-19 shielding, symptoms or isolation continues to fall. The Trust has commenced staff testing for the Covid-19 antibody, an opt in service which will enable staff to know if they have had the virus in the past. This test will also be offered to elective patients in the coming weeks.
The average daily attendance at the Emergency Department continues to increase with on average 201 people attending daily over the past 7 days compared with lasts weeks average of average of 189. Similarly, attendances at the Urgent Care Centre also continues to increase, with an average daily attendance of 47 compared to 41 last week.
In line with NHS England guidance The Trust is drawing up plans with social distancing and infection prevention measures in mind to undertake some additional operating and outpatient consultation for urgent patients, in addition to cancer patients, as part of our restoration plan.
Meanwhile a video featuring several GPs from Halton and Warrington has been produced to help promote the message that people should not delay seeking treatment for any health concerns.

Advice for the public remains strict stay at home and social distancing guidance.
View the latest public guidance at gov.uk/coronavirus.
The latest health advice is available for the public at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus