New Cluster of Covid-19 Cases in Brentford
Rising concern as borough wide rise seems to be affecting area
The Brentford area has seen an increase in the number of Covid-19 infections having previously avoided the cluster of cases seen in other parts of the borough.
The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) from the 1 September to 7 September show that there were 9 cases Brentford in the week. The ONS divide the country into ‘Middle Super Output Areas’ (MSOAs) of roughly equal population size. The Brentford East MSOA had three new cases and the Syon MSOA had six. In addition the Osterley and Lampton East MSOA had eight cases.
A more severe outbreak seems to be occurring in the area around Hounslow Town with ten cases in Hounslow West, 5 in Hounslow High Street and 6 in Hounslow Meadows.
In the seven days to Wednesday (9 September) the borough had 76 people confirmed positive with the virus.
The number of people who tested positive in the borough on Wednesday (9 September) at 25 was the highest since 30 April however the figure has fallen to 5 the following day.
The 20 to 50-year-old age group were highlighted as the most affected, and that a “small number” of people are currently in hospital after contracting the virus.
The warning comes as two Hounslow schools, Heston Community School and Cranford Community College announced two positive coronavirus cases among their pupils, with a number of further staff and students told to self-isolate. The schools remain open for other students.
Hounslow’s public health boss Kelly O’Neill said, “Hounslow’s rate is below the figure where a local lockdown would be considered, but this sustained increase especially over the last two weeks is a serious health concern.”
She added, “The data suggests the three main causes of the increase in positive cases are; people not self-isolating when they return from a destination abroad which is not on the exempt list, parents not socially distancing outside school; and younger people ignoring social distancing when they meet up with friends.”
As of 9 September the cumulative rate of cases since the beginning of the pandemic rose to 510.1 per 100,000, compared to a rate of 477.7 per 100,000 a week previous of 2 September.
Professor Kevin Fenton, London regional director for Public Health England also warned “there is no room for complacency,” after the crucial ‘R’ number was confirmed to have gone above 1, meaning that the epidemic is growing again.
London’s Public Health boss said, “Rates of coronavirus in London have been relatively low compared to other parts of the country but are now starting to increase.
“The highest number of positive test results in London are among people aged 20-29 across the city which is concerning.
“We don’t want to see this rise in young people have a knock-on effect on those who are more vulnerable to coronavirus including grandparents, family and friends who are pregnant or have long-term health conditions.
“There is no room for complacency – we need all Londoners to pull together now and follow government advice on social distancing, self-isolation, wearing face coverings and practising good hygiene to keep London safe.”
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
September 11, 2020