Kirklees Covid infection rate now ninth highest in the country as death toll rises

The borough now has the ninth highest rates in the country, and the council’s Director of Public Health, Rachel Spencer-Henshall, has issued another important plea to the whole of the borough.

The latest data shows that in the last seven days 571 per 100,000 people in Kirklees tested positive for COVID-19, compared to last week when it was 515 per 100,000 people.

There were 2,510 new positive COVID-19 cases in the borough over the last seven days up to November 13 with cases in every single ward.

Sadly, there were 33 COVID-19-related Kirklees deaths in the same period.

In total 103 Kirklees people have been admitted to hospital in the seven days prior to November 13. These figures are from hospitals in Kirklees, Wakefield or Calderdale.

The latest information also shows that 159 Kirklees schools (127 primary, 20 secondary, three all-through/middle, six all-through special, one Pupil Referral Unit schools) currently have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases.

There are a total of 4,672 pupils in Kirklees that are either suspected/confirmed COVID-19 cases or are self-isolating and are not in school as a result. 192 are confirmed positive cases.

Rachel Spencer-Henshall, Strategic Director for Public Health at Kirklees Council said: “I want to thank you all for everything you are doing to keep yourself and others safe. I know how difficult this lockdown period is for us all, but the efforts you’re going to and the sacrifices you’re making are a key part in our fight against COVID-19.

“However, I cannot stress enough how serious our current situation is. Our rates of COVID-19 infection, hospitalisations and deaths are all increasing every week and we are continuing to quickly move up the national table.

“This week we’ve moved into the top ten of areas with the highest rates. 2,500 people in the last week became infected with COVID-19 and this is a big number.

“The harsh reality is that the higher our rates climb; more people end up in hospital and more people lose their lives. We’ve got to turn this around together.

“To help us support this, we have requested that Kirklees gets access to lateral flow tests which will give almost instant results. We will use these rapid tests to support our most vulnerable residents and we believe this will help to save lives and reduce hospital admissions.

“What we need everyone else to do during this lockdown period is to limit your contact with other households to an absolute minimum, stay at home as much as possible and please, if you have any symptoms at all, self-isolate.“We know how difficult this lockdown period is, but it’s vital that we all take it seriously and get through it together. Please continue look out for each other, as you always do, and thank you for playing your part.”