Published Friday 24 July 2020 at 19:47
Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Director of public health and well being, Professor Dominic Harrison advises that we are on the ‘right tracks’ as the positivity rate for new tests has fallen.
It comes as today (Friday, July 24th) it becomes a legal requirement to wear a face covering in a shop or supermarket.
In Blackburn with Darwen, a five point action plan has been implemented to drive the number of positive Covid cases down.
The positivity rate is the number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus for every 100 people tested.
Last week, the borough’s positivity rate stood at 7%.
Now, it is less than 3% meaning there are only around three positive cases of the virus for every 100 tests taking place.
Test and trace continues to be a key strategy for identifying cases and containing the virus.
The increased testing increases our position in the national league table but it is exactly what we need to do to avoid further spread and a full lockdown in the borough.
Professor Harrison advises that this a positive signal that we may have caught the larger number of undiagnosed cases and there may now be fewer people overall with the virus in the community.
He said:
We may need to bring in further special measures to ensure we ‘exit’ the list of the top ten local authorities with higher rates over the next few weeks, but we will not go from ‘open to shut’ in a Leicester-style lockdown.
Our plans are on track.
To help explain further and address some of the questions being asked by residents, on social media and by journalists, Professor Dominic Harrison has recorded an interview video message.
In a series of new videos he talks to the Council’s Communications Team about what is changing and why.
Click these links to watch the videos now:
Q1: What is currently happening?
Q2: Why is it important to get tested?
Q3: What are the local measures and why have they been introduced?
Q4. Why can’t gyms and leisure centres reopen?
Q5: What is an area of intervention and why is it needed for the whole borough?
Q6: What support are we getting from the Government?
Q8: How can residents help get the rates down?
Being classified an area of intervention does not necessarily mean that area enters a local lockdown, as occurred in Leicester and neighbouring Oadby and Wigston.
However, there are a range of measures that might be introduced in an area of intervention.
These include:
• closing certain businesses and venues such as shops, cafes, gyms, offices or warehouses
• cancelling events such as sports events, concerts or weddings
• closing outdoor public areas such as parks, playgrounds or beaches
• encouraging people to work from home
• closing schools or limiting schools to certain year groups
• restricting travel for everyone but key workers
• bespoke measures for those with underlying health conditions who are “shielding”