Devon covid dips

Down for second week

Covid infection rates have fallen across most of Devon for the second week running, reflecting national trends.

In the week up to Sunday, 7 November, 5,165 new cases were reported in Devon, 15 per cent (789) fewer than in the previous week. However, levels remain well above the UK average. The average infection rate across Devon is now at 420 per 100,000 of the population, compared with the national average of 350.

The Devon County Council (DCC) area, which excludes Plymouth and Torbay, saw 3,548 new infections, 10 per cent (372) fewer than the previous week. The infection rate across its seven districts is now 438 per 100,000.

Torbay had the largest proportional drop of any council area, recording 585 new cases, 167 – or 22 per cent – fewer than the previous week. The infection rate in the Bay is now 430 per 100,000 of the population.

Plymouth also saw a 20 per cent fall in new cases, recording 1,032  cases than the previous week. The infection rate is the same as Torbay’s at 430 per 100,000.

The only council areas to see a rise in cases were North Devon and Torridge. North Devon recorded 525 cases, up nine per cent (43 cases). The infection rate remains high, at 535 per 100,000.

Torridge’s infection rate jumped slightly, rising by two per cent. The area had 298 cases, five more than the previous week, and now has an infection rate of 434 per 100,000.

Hospitalisations

As reported on Tuesday, the latest figures (Tuesday, 2 November) show 129 covid patients in the county’s hospitals – a rise of eleven on last week’s total.

Of the total in hospital, 51 are at Derriford in Plymouth, 43 at the RD&E in Exeter, 22 in Torbay, 11 in North Devon and two at Devon Partnership mental health trust sites. Of the total number of patients, 11 are on mechanical ventilation beds.

Deaths

Deaths have decreased slightly, though figures remain high compared to recent months.

Fourteen people died within 28 days of receiving a positive covid test across Devon in the most recent complete seven-day period up to Sunday, 7 December.

Eleven people died with covid in the Devon County Council area, three in Torbay and no-one in Plymouth.

Across Devon, a total of 1,305 people have now died within 28 days of a positive covid test.

Vaccinations

Eighty-six per cent of people aged 12 and above have had their first dose of a vaccine in the Devon County Council area, with 80 per cent receiving both doses.

In Plymouth, 82 per cent have had one dose, while 75 per cent have had both.

In Torbay, 84 per cent have received one dose and  78 per cent both.

This means that vaccination rates in Devon remain slightly behind the rest of the UK. Across the country, 88 per cent of people aged 12 and over have had one dose, while 80 per cent have had both jabs.

Boris Johnson has warned of “the storm clouds gathering over parts of the European continent” as infections rise across many neighbouring countries.

He added: ”What I’m saying today is that the urgency of getting that booster jab is more evident than ever.

“If we don’t do it fast enough, we can see the potential risks to the state of the pandemic in what’s happening in other parts of Europe.”