Cumbrian COVID cases continue to fall

Cases of COVID-19 in Cumbria have fallen again in the week ending Friday 28 January as 3,969 new cases were recorded – a decrease of 763 or 16% – down from 4,732 new cases in the previous week.

New cases decreased in all districts, with Copeland and Carlisle having the greatest decreases (-22% and -21%, respectively).

For the 2nd week in a row, the 5-11 age group had the greatest number of new cases in Cumbria (815 new cases) and the highest rate of new cases in Cumbria (2195 new cases per 100k population).

However, new cases decreased from the previous week in all age groups, with the 0-4 age group having the greatest proportional decrease of 46%.

In the week ending Monday 31 January, the number of new patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 positive status in Cumbria decreased by 5 compared to the previous week. While the average number of patients with COVID-19 occupying hospital beds in the county decreased by 24 from the previous week.

Sadly, in the week to Friday 21 January there were 22 deaths with COVID-19 as cause of death.

Colin Cox, Cumbria’s Director of Public Health, said: “Thankfully the number of COVID cases in our county is continuing to fall – albeit slower than we’d like them to.

“With cases still highest amongst the 5-11 age group, I’d urge parents of school-age children to continue testing them regularly with lateral flow tests. Remember though, if they do test positive using a lateral flow, you no longer need to confirm this with a follow up PCR test – but they do need to self-isolate as per national guidance.

“While we have sadly recently seen the highest number of weekly deaths with Covid-19 for almost a year, these numbers are actually extremely low given the number of cases that we’ve seen over the last six weeks, reflecting the success of the vaccination and booster campaign in keeping the vast majority of people safe from serious harm. I am reasonably confident that we are now over the peak of omicron deaths and that these numbers will start to come down in the coming days.”

For the latest information on COVID-19 guidance and how to stay safe, visit gov.uk/coronavirus.

The full COVID-19 situation report can be found at cumbria.gov.uk/stopthespread.