COVID: What a difference a year makes!

This time last year, Blackburn with Darwen was under tighter Covid restrictions than most other areas of the UK and had the highest weekly case rate in England – now the borough is third lowest in the national league table of case rates.

Prof Dominic Harrison, the Council’s Director of Public Health, commented:

It’s been a long and tough 12 months, but thanks to the continued efforts of all our local communities, we’ve managed to get in control of our virus rates – and learnt such a lot along the way.

Today Blackburn with Darwen’s case rate is 152.6 for every 100,000 residents, around 47% lower than the England average.

This time last year local residents did not have the same freedoms as many others in England, with travel in and out of the borough not recommended, mixing in others’ homes and gardens illegal and some businesses not allowed to reopen.

Prof Harrison continued:

I want to say a huge thank you to Blackburn with Darwen residents who have responded well to all the restrictions we’ve had to live under. The vast majority of people have followed the government guidance and our collective effort has undoubtedly helped to avoid more people getting infected and more families losing loved ones.

We now know so much more about Coronavirus, particularly after being one of the first areas in England to deal with a surge of the Delta variant in April. With the added support from the government, as an Enduring Transmission Area, we were able to deal with this outbreak within eight weeks or so.

We’ve now developed a robust response to ‘bumps in the road’ such as this variant wave and developed stronger partnership across Council teams and with local organisations and volunteers. Other areas of England with less experience in handling outbreaks have seen much higher virus rates in the Delta variant wave.

We are realistic in our expectations of what life will be like living with Coronavirus, and do expect to see spikes after certain major events and celebrations. The Euros football tournament, for one, led to a small spike in our local case rates, while the start of the school summer holidays, Eid celebrations and the end of legal restrictions on 19 July did not.

It is evident from the case data following Eid that our Muslim communities were very careful during Eid celebrations. I want to thank them for this and for their ongoing persistence in supporting all of our communities to stay safe during this pandemic.

As a whole borough, we are now more resilient and, should we have another wave to deal with in the future, we’re far better equipped with knowledge and experience.

Coun Mohammed Khan CBE, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, added:

The autumn and winter could provide more challenges, not only for our borough but the whole country, as we head into the traditional flu season and spend more time indoors.

I want to stress the importance of getting both doses of the Covid vaccine to ensure you’re fully protected. We’re awaiting more information about the Covid booster jabs and will work closely with our local NHS and Public Health England to roll out vaccination swiftly.

This is how we can protect ourselves and our loved ones, and live with the virus for the foreseeable future.

There are several sites across Blackburn with Darwen where anyone over the age of 18 can get vaccinated – and walk-ins are welcome.

Find out more at www.healthierlsc.co.uk/getmyjab.