Hartlepool residents hailed after 'massive effort since Christmas' to tackle Covid

Health chiefs in Hartlepool have praised residents for helping to bring down Covid-19 rates in the area, but warned more still needs to be done.
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Craig Blundred, Hartlepool’s director of public health, said there is ‘slightly more positive news’ for the area in regards to the decreasing Covid-19 rates compared to previous months.

Speaking to the audit and governance committee on Thursday, he said rates were down to 209 cases per 100,000 of the population, when they had been as high as ‘nearly 900’ previously.

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However he warned the rate still must come down further to help ensure restrictions can be lifted, despite there being ‘chinks of light’ at the end of the tunnel.

Craig Blundred, Hartlepool’s director of public health.Craig Blundred, Hartlepool’s director of public health.
Craig Blundred, Hartlepool’s director of public health.

Mr Blundred said: “A few weeks ago, particularly around the end of December, beginning of January, I think we were seeing very high numbers of cases coming through, in some parts nearly towards 900 per 100,000 of the population.

“There’s been a massive effort since Christmas on behalf of the population to bring these numbers down, it’s really positive that we’re at the level that we are now.

“Whilst that’s excellent and we’ve come down from that significant high, 209 is still very high, we need to get that down still quite significantly before we come out of the lockdown restrictions.

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“The main message is keep going, there are some chinks of light at the end of the tunnel, and we just need to make sure that we maintain the current guidance and restrictions.”

He added his aim is to see the numbers fall further, and urged everyone to continue to follow restrictions in place, follow social distancing, ensure good hand hygiene, and wear a mask where appropriate.

Mr Blundred also told councillors it has been positive to see the high numbers of people receive the vaccine in Hartlepool to date.

He said: “We’ve had some very high uptakes in those groups that have been vaccinated so far and I think that’s really positive for Hartlepool.

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“Once the process started in Hartlepool and over Christmas we’ve seen very high numbers of people being vaccinated, so that’s very positive as well.”

An update was also provided on the community testing being carried out at Mill House Leisure Centre available for those without symptoms of Covid-19.

Mr Blundred said they have had a good response so far and are encouraging more people to visit, with calls being carried out to businesses to help ensure those who have to go to work get tested.

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