Autumn Coping With Covid-19 in Cornwall

For the previous episode in the ongoing saga of the Covid-19 pandemic here in Cornwall please see:

The Covid-19 Holiday Season in Cornwall

Schools have gone back and the clocks change in a couple of weeks, but Covid-19 is still with us. In actual fact it’s on the increase again. Both nationally:

and here in the Camelford MSOA, where we now find ourselves in the top DHSC category with a case rate of 889.8 per 100,000 people per week:

Just down the A39 “Atlantic Highway” in Wadebridge the rate is now over 1,000.

Further west the top spot goes to Camborne West, with a case rate of 946.4:

As you can see from the maps there are several other area across Cornwall in the 800+ category, whilst across Cornwall as a whole the average case rate is 539.5, an increase of 15.6% compared to a week ago:

[Edit – October 22nd]

Further to the BBC report in the comments below, the The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust is “tweeting” much the same story:

They are also providing their current Covid-19 statistics:

https://twitter.com/RCHTWeCare/status/1451572071834734595

The UK Government statistics show Covid-19 cases still rising quickly across the nation as a whole:

Across Cornwall as a whole the rolling weekly case rate is still almost unchanged at 546.8 per 100,000 population:

Here in the Camelford area the case rate has fallen to 528.3. However the rate in Bude has risen to 924.6, whilst Bodmin West has fallen slightly to 954.1:

Further south Par is now home to an outbreak with a case rate over 1,000:

The BBC reports today that:

MPs are asking for help from the government to deal with a “perfect storm” in the health system.

There have been more than 100 patients waiting to be seen in an emergency department designed for 40, and 25 ambulances waiting outside.

The hospital trust’s medical director said the situation was improving slowly.

Steve Double, MP for Newquay and St Austell, said: “It is regrettably a sort of perfect storm of a number of factors coming together that is creating this unprecedented level of demand on our system.”

Mr Double said he had spoken with health minister Ed Argar who was “asking for further details to see exactly what is going on and what further help could be made available”.

Cherilyn Mackrory, MP for Truro and Falmouth, said she was “acutely aware of the current situation”.

She added: “Whatever the hospital need to alleviate this pressure, I will do to try and help them.



11 Replies to “Autumn Coping With Covid-19 in Cornwall”

  1. Some thoughts on the reasons for all this from John Burn-Murdoch of the Financial Times:

  2. The Covid-19 case rate here in the Davidstow/Camelford area is now over 900:

    The UK case rate is increasing as well, and is rapidly approaching the previous peak. However in our part of North Cornwall we’re currently over twice the national average:

  3. According to the BBC:

    The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) has declared a critical incident due to the pressures it is facing.

    A critical incident allows all health and care organisations to work together and focus on resolving the situation.

    The trust reported up to 100 people were waiting to be seen in the emergency department on Wednesday, with 25 ambulances waiting outside.

    Managers contacted staff asking them to work extra hours to help handle “intense pressures”.

    The trust said the emergency department is designed to accommodate up to 40 people at any one time.

    Speaking on behalf of the NHS in Cornwall, RCHT medical director, Dr Allister Grant said: “There is unprecedented demand on health and care services in Cornwall, more so this week than at any point during the pandemic.Β 

    “As a result, we have escalated our operational level from OPEL4 to an internal critical incident.

    “Pressure will always be most visible at the Emergency Department where ambulances are waiting, and our priority here is to move people into wards as soon as we can.”

    As part of the response, NHS staff are working in care homes where beds are available for patients, but there is a shortage of workers.

    Dr Grant added: “Families, friends and neighbours are urged to help us, too, by offering to support someone waiting for home care to leave hospital sooner, and we would ask them to contact the ward directly if they can help in any way.

    “Getting someone home a day or two sooner will mean we can free up a vital hospital bed for someone else in urgent need.”

  4. There seems to be no slowdown in the national Covid-19 case rate as it nears the previous peak in July:

    The Covid-19 rolling weekly case rate in Bude is also still rising, and has now reached 1094.4 per 100,000 population:

    On the south coast the rate in Par has dropped below 1,000:

    Further east Callington and Pensilva is up to 923.8. Once again the case rate for Cornwall as a whole has declined slightly from yesterday, and is now standing at 541.1. That is a total of 3114 weekly cases across the county:

  5. The Covid-19 rolling weekly case rate for the UK as a whole has risen to 482.0 per 100,000 population:

    Here in North Cornwall the rate in Bude and Stratton has also risen slightly, and has reached 1103.9:

    In West Cornwall the only MSOA with a rate still over 800 is Pool and Illogan Highway:

    Across Cornwall as whole the case rate has again reduced slightly, but is still above the national average at 535.9:

  6. Here’s the latest update from Treliske:

    The Covid-19 rolling weekly case rate for the UK has risen to 486.9 per 100,000 population:

    The rate in Cornwall has dropped to 519.0, but is still above the national average:

    The number of cases in Bude is still increasing, and has now reached 1,132.2:

  7. The number of Covid-19 positive inpatients at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust has increased again:

    Nationwide the rolling weekly case rate has dropped slightly for the first time in a very long time, although the other metrics are still increasing:

    However perhaps that’s because the number of tests carried out had dropped by a significantly larger percentage?

    In North Cornwall the case rate in Bude & Stratton is surprisingly still at precisely 1132.2 per 100,000 population:

    The rate in Trebetherick & Whitecross is now in the top category, at 852.4.

    On the south coast the case rate in Kingsand, Antony and Maryfield has suddenly jumped to 1229.3:

  8. Here’s the latest update from Treliske:

    Nationally deaths from Covid-19 are increasing faster than confirmed cases are decreasing:

    Across Cornwall the weekly rolling average of confirmed cases per 100,000 population is still slowly declining, and has dropped below 500:

    Meanwhile here in North Cornwall the case rate of the cluster in Bude is still over 1,000:

    Down south the case rate in Kingsand, Antony & Maryfield has dropped slightly, to 1197.3:

  9. Today’s update from the The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust:

    For the UK as a whole the case rate is still decreasing whilst deaths are still increasing:

    There are no MSOAs in the top category in West Cornwall at the moment, but here in the north the rate in Bude is still over 1,000:

    as is the rate in Kingsand which has increased to 1133.5.

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