Useful information on rates of positive COVID-19 tests in Kirklees
After a steady overall decline, the rate of infection in Kirklees has gone up over the past week and we cannot ignore this.
Rachel Spencer-Henshall, Strategic Director for Public Health at Kirklees Council said:
“After a steady overall decline, the rate of infection in Kirklees has gone up over the past week and we cannot ignore this.
“This is a powerful warning that now is not the time to become complacent and our fight against COVID-19 is not over. Social distancing, hand washing and protecting the most vulnerable in our community are more important now than ever, particularly with the recent easing of lockdown measures.
“In the past few weeks, we’ve acted quickly and decisively to contain outbreaks in local workplaces. This kind of action always leads to more tests and positive cases in the short term which will contribute to our increase.
“We will be analysing the data further over the next few days to learn more and if we need to adjust our action, we will do so.
“We are far from the levels of infection seen in Leicester but we have to take this increase seriously and we all have an equal role to play in getting the rates back down.”
Below is some useful information on the equal role we all have to play in getting the rates back down.
What does it mean for Kirklees?
During the pandemic, 464.3 people per 100,000 residents have tested positive for the virus.
The data also tells us that 29.8 people per 100,000 residents tested positive in Kirklees in the past week. This has increased from 27.5 people per 100,000 residents the previous week.
The current national rate is 6.4. The current West Yorkshire average rate is 18.6.
Leicester’s rates remain the highest in the country at 115.99 per 100,000 people.
A relatively small number of cases can make a large difference to rates and this needs to be considered when looking at weekly changes and comparisons with other areas.
Why are infections higher in Kirklees this week compared to last week?
In Kirklees, we have recently acted to contain outbreaks in workplaces which always leads to more tests and a high chance of more positive tests. This could affect the weekly figures.
As lockdown has eased, it could also mean that people have been in more contact with each other which has increased infections.
What we do know for sure us that if we all follow the guidance on social distancing hand washing and staying safe, numbers will come down.
Why are the numbers higher in Kirklees than elsewhere?
It’s very difficult to say for certain what the reason for the increase is.
Nobody yet knows exactly why COVID-19 is more prevalent in some places than others.
Our actions to tackle the spread of the virus
It’s up to everyone to follow the rules on social distancing, handwashing and isolating. They are the best way to keep yourself, your family and your community safe. And they are as important now as they have been throughout this crisis.
The council will continue to act quickly on outbreaks so that infections do not spread from workplaces into the community. We will reinforce key public health advice to residents across Kirklees so that they know how they can play their part. We will make sure we are cautious about how and when we reopen services that people need to visit in person. And we will be supporting businesses to operate safely for their staff and customers.
Does this mean there’s going to be a local lockdown?
We still remain some way behind the rates in Leicester and this increase does not currently mean we will go in to a local lockdown, but we are not where we would like to be.
Leicester’s rates remain the highest in the country at 115.99 per 100,000 people, whilst ours are 29.8.
However, there is no room for complacency. Everyone needs to keep following the guidance on staying safe to keep numbers as low as possible.
Does it tell us exactly how many people have had COVID-19 in Kirklees?
No. Some people who get the virus don’t have any symptoms so we wouldn’t know about them. Others won’t have taken a test for other reasons and wouldn’t be counted here. The figures published today can give us a rough, but useful, idea of the number of cases locally.
Why can’t I see where every case is in Kirklees?
We don’t yet have reliable data to break down the numbers any further.
What should I do?
Keep following the advice on hand washing, social distancing and all the other ways you can keep safe. For more help and advice visit Kirklees Council’s website.
We need the actual amount of cases per postcode ie, HD9, don’t need to go into any further detail from that and not per 100,000 people, some people don’t realise that the number of cases given per 100,000 has to be multiplied by 4.5 making a low 32 cases per 100,000 up to an actual 144 cases for the whole of kirklees, people need to know the cases in the area where they live, not included in a figure that could be 10 miles away.
I fail to see how localised data that has been redacted so that avoids identifying individuals can ever be classed as confidential !
Hi Mel, we report on figures weekly where you can stay up to date on trends. There are no plans to extend or reintroduce shielding. However, if you do feel as though you are vulnerable we would advise you to take necessary precautions to avoid contact with people not in your support bubble or household. ^CP
NONE for Huddersfield, as far as I can discover.
Anybody know what the latest figure is for number of new cases per 100,000 . It’s 50 ish in Oldham what’s the equivalent figure for Kirklees ?
I live at the eastern edge of Kirklees. Much nearer to Leeds and Wakefield than I am to Huddersfield town centre , let alone Holmfirth and beyond.
Just plain meaningless to lump all together as Kirklees without a more detailed breakdown of the data.
Hi Kenneth, we will be adding more information as and when we have it to the Kirklees news bulletin to keep people up to date on COVID. It’s great to hear you’ve signed up to our newsletters we hope you find them useful 🙂 ^CP
Hi Adam, It’s still crucial that your son social distances and washes his hands regularly. He should only isolate if he has symptoms of COVID. Kind regards ^CP
My son is going to Huddersfield for a birthday in a few weeks should he isolate on returning- I live in Scarborough that is 0.00 at present
Adam
Can you include updates on Covid 19 in the weekly Kirklees News. I live in Sheffield but travel to Wakefield at least once per month. I have signed up to receive the Kirklees News. I am not in any business, I am a retired person.
If the Data shows cases are reducing in Kirklees that’s good enough for me.
I am still seriously concerned about a large number of people who constantly ignore social distancing and do not wear face masks where they have been necessary such as supermarkets- needless to say they are the ones that go down supermarket aisles the wrong way!
Good to see things change today
I’ve just heard Nicola Sturgeon explaining what they are doing for those that are shielding in Scotland . Very well articulated , very supportive and full of common sense, including alerts by SMS to all shielders. Excellent just what I think we need! If the government won’t do it then our local authority should!
It would be helpful in a number of ways. It would allow me to decide for myself if it is ‘safe enough’ to walk out of my front gate or maybe just along the road after 5 months strict shielding.
It would do this by adding to the bank of data and information, along with historic figures showing trends and progress.
Then I would be more able to draw my own conclusions about the level of safety for me and my family, rather than having to rely on others to interpret the data and telling me if it’s OK to go out, back to work, to the shop etc etc. Others making those interpretations may have different agenda influencing their advice.
It would be useful to see which areas to avoid & also specific places like takeaways & restaurants
All correct – so what do we do now ? We need accurate local information so we can make informed decisions ourselves. Come on Kirklees we need you to sort the data and to feed it out to us without delay.
I locked down in mid January, i bought face masks in January, i booked delivery slots in January right through to april 17th,.I watched Chelenham race week go ahead, and a european champions football match in liverpool. I saw planes flying in from covid infected countries with no checks, Boris said just carry on and even said shake hands as normal. Boris didnt lock down till late march, There are 8 countries on this planet that have no covid 19 cases,and that is because they shut down and locked down early just like I did and they stopped flights. Here They moved covid patients to care homes where the vunerable lived and culled them yes culled. Eight countries and I saw it coming and may I add some others did to. So why did this Government not see it imo they did,just like they knew what would happen putting covid patients into care homes people would die and they did.And that my friends is willfull negligence. So dont expect helpfull information from any Government Dept. Do everything you can to stay safe dont be part of this madness Question everything believe your evidence not theirs. And i would like to add before I go that it was the public that locked down before Boris called for lockdown. If you dont think its safe for you and your loved ones yet stay locked down,Believe little, question everything…..And stay safe.
We need LOCAL information – we have now shielded for 17 weeks and just when we thought it was safer to go outside a little we are faced with this situation . I need to know if it is safe to go for a walk in my village not the whole of Kirklees
I agree with others- we urgently need to see a breakdown by (at least) postcode. Let us see the raw data and if it’s not complete yet tell us why and how to understand what we have. Not giving local data increases the anxiety, worry and stress for those who are often least able to cope with it.
Why cant we have figures per town. I do agree about people congrating in groups (mainly young boys) on the streets. One of the houses on our street regularly held parties with outsiders.I am cross that I abided by the rules but others had mass protests, flocked to parks and beauty spots.
Thank you for the timely reminder that 2metre physical distancing & frequent handwashing are still extremely important.
A positive test result is not an infection. It is a number being used by politicians to disguise the fact that the virus has long since run its course. That they are having to look so hard to find any evidence of the active virus is proof.
Ask yourselves what’s really going on here – because it isn’t about a bad virus that has killed far fewer people than the flu epidemic of 2017/18.
You’ve not not heard of that one? Funny that! You’ll find the 50,000 deaths from it in the official ONS statistics. Those 50,000 were purely from the flu.
On the other hand, the ongoing lockdown has killed far more than CV19 has – and the worst is yet to come.
Thank you for this very helpful article which sends a very appropriate message. I am shocked by the flagrant disregard of govt guidelines. In particular why have supermarkets stopped regulating the numbers of people? There has been no relaxation of rules applicable to supermarkets but there appears to be no attempt by staff or customers to exercise the 2m rule. There needs to be some local authority action in this respect.
They vary. Round us (Holmfirth) The Co-op has a clear one-way system. Lidl and Aldi do not. But use any of them in the last hour of business (9.00-10.00) anjd there a very few customers in.
Why can’t the figures relate to postal areas, at least people can identify with the area and be more aware of the intensity of it in their own area, to me, if you say kirklees, it would mean to me that the council offices have it, no point in Huddersfield and surrounding areas being locked down if there’s only an outbreak in, say, meltham
What difference would it make if you knew where every positive test was? That positive test may have travelled throughout Kirklees and spread to several areas. Or live in one area of Kirklees and work in another. Seems like a need to be able to place blame.
I went to the Huddersfield Market in Brook Street on Tuesday and as with Dewsbury mentioned above, the council have adequately marked out a one system. Unfortunately people just weren’t following the directions.
Where in kirklees are the outbreaks I It Dewsbury Batley or Huddersfield .We all live in different towns and need to know where to avoid . Please tell us don’t just say KIRKLEES .
Agreed. I work in a different town and the differences in people’s attitudes and actions are vast. People move out of your way, people are stood at big distances to each other. I come back to Batley and people are walking around everywhere, no awareness of care or people’s health. Kirklees are doing their best with the limited resources they have, but they HAVE to check in on businesses and shops and see it for themselves. We need more police in these areas too. Just yesterday there were large groups of teenagers walking around in Soothill…. I counted at least 12 in one group! It needs to be policed and parents need to handle their kids.
Thank you for that information – its really helpful. Keen to see regular updates. Thanks to Public Health, and others, for all your work.
I am concerned over all the smokers which are smoking outside shops/ pubs/ Bus Stops / Streets or as you are walking past into the smoke of a person exhaling.
How come nothing is been done about this?
Would help greatly if you gave information regarding problematic areas, like the outbreak at the meat factory… by keeping this information to yourselves you put us all at risk! Give us the local news and allow us to make informed decisions instead of treating us like sheep!
Social distancing is very poor – people see you coming in the street but don’t alter course – it seems to be those who are most anxious that have to take the necessary evasive action. I am not convinced that people (probably myself included ) really ‘get’ how far 2 metres is!
Not having been near a supermarket since mid March, are there still “one way” systems in place or have these all disappeared? Just someone commented that they had been in one today and the arrows were no longer in place
Unsurprised that covid infections are on the rise again in Kirklees, in my village the guidelines have been followed, and we locked down earlier than advised , I chose to wear face coverings from the start, however when in Supermarkets…people don’t seem to realise the risks.
I assume this is Batley skewing the figures due to the bed factory outbreak and then the customer at the pub (and possibly those with him) testing positive.
There needs to be spot check in all factories because rules are simply not being followed: why are workers sharing cars, why are workers sharing PC’s….I drive past one big business where workers are all gathered outside closely every single morning. It is unfair on everyone else in Batley doing what they are asked and more.
I am not surprised the numbers are high when you go into a local supermarket and see a family of 7 shopping together with 1 trolley. 2 adults, 5 young children. Not necessary and absolutely stupid behaviour.
With detailed data it is always about balancing confidentiallity with detail. Unfortunately it is only recently that local authorities like Leicester were provided with the level of detail required to identity local distributions. This will not be made public due to confidentiality. If you do look at ONS and PHE websites, some information IS available at MSOA (midlevel super output areas) which gives more detail within local authorities but this is not as uptodate as the daily case loads.
Not very helpful as Kirklees is such a large area. Would be helpful to know what the infection rates were in ones own village or postcide. And I don’t believe that you don’t have that information.
You are either relying on the data to issue this increase in cases or the data is unreliable ( not able to provide a breakdown), in which case you should not issue this report. You cannot provide a report of this magnitude without backing it up with reliable figures.
I’m not surprised the numbers are high. Kirklees have done a good job at Dewsbury Market – making and adequately marking a one-way system. Sadly, high numbers of (mainly) ladies are totally ignoring the signs, and social distancing is absolutely ignored. Marshalls are required to enforce the signage and Government recommendations.
What is Kirklees council doing to obtain detailed location data of COVID19 infections (e.g. cases by postcode)? This information is crucial in order to let residents know where the disease is more prevalent in our area which has a number of disparate towns and communities.
This ‘disclaimer’ is very irritating, “Why can’t I see where every case is in Kirklees? We don’t yet have reliable data to break down the numbers any further.” Kirklees as a council / Health Authority administrative area has little relevance to how people identify their local citizenship etc. Their concerns about COVID19 relate to where they live and work ie town / village etc. If a more significant ‘spike’ in cases aises the last thing we need is ‘Kirklees’ as an entity being subjected to lock-down measures as Kirklees is just not the issue!