Covid rates fall across Devon

The county still above the UK average rate

The number of covid cases has fallen across the board in Devon, mirroring the national reduction in the virus.

Figures for the week to last Thursday [10 February] show the rate in the Devon County Council area and Torbay both dropped by around 30 per cent, with a 23 per cent fall in Plymouth.

However, as covid cases began to fall sooner elsewhere in the country, Devon is still above the UK average rate of 642 cases per 100,000 people. Devon’s is 831 and Torbay’s is 823, while the figure is slightly higher in Plymouth at 944.

At a district level, Torridge, Exeter and North Devon all recorded falls of over a third in the past week, with infections in Teignbridge and the South Hams dropping by just under 30 per cent.

The new figures mean Torridge – once one of the most infectious areas in the country for covid – remains the least prevalent area in Devon at 520 cases per 100,000. Exeter and East Devon have the joint-highest district rate of 980.

The latest data shows a continued sharp reduction of cases among younger age groups, who had previously been instrumental in the new year uptick in cases following their return to education.

HOSPITALISATIONS

As of the most recent government data from Tuesday 8 February, 183 patients with covid were in Devon’s hospitals, a reduction of 43 from a week ago. The majority – 100 – are in Plymouth.

Elsewhere, 43 patients were at the RD&E in Exeter, 29 in Torbay and 11 in North Devon.

However on Tuesday Dr Paul Johnson of the NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group revealed the hospital figure had since fallen to 156, driven by a fall in the number of people being treated in Plymouth. He added only one person is in intensive care with covid.

DEATHS

Twenty-six more people died in the county within 28 days of testing positive for covid in the latest complete weekly period (up to Thursday 10 February). Thirteen were in the Devon County Council area, three in Torbay and ten in Plymouth.

A total of 1,606 people in Devon (including Plymouth and Torbay) have died within 28 days of a positive test since the pandemic began (as of 14 February).

VACCINATIONS

The number of people aged over 12 who have received their booster (third) covid vaccination is 71 per cent in the Devon County Council area, 66 per cent in Torbay and 60 per cent in Plymouth.

Take-up for at least one dose of a vaccine is 88 per cent in the Devon County Council area, 86 per cent in Torbay and 85 per cent in Plymouth.

The proportion of people who have had two jabs is 84 per cent in Devon, 81 per cent in Torbay and 80 per cent in Plymouth.