The number of new COVID-19 infections in Cumbria continues to drop, new figures show.
In the week ending February 19, the number of new infections was down 24 per cent from the previous week (555 compared to 728).
Barrow, Allerdale and Copeland continue to have infections rates above the England average of 120 per 100,000.
While some districts saw small increases, more recent data from this week has confirmed these to be related to specific outbreaks rather than indicative of a general increase.
The number of new patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 decreased from the previous week in both North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMB) by -19 per cent and -31 per cent respectively.
For week ending February 12, there were sadly a further 74 registered deaths mentioning COVID-19.
Colin Cox, Cumbria’s Director of Public Health, said: “This week the Prime Minister announced the roadmap for exiting lockdown.
“I welcome that but we must all recognise that we still have high infection rates, well above those of last summer, and we cannot just assume that infections will continue to fall.
“They will only fall if we keep following the guidance and don’t act as if lockdown has already been lifted.
“This is a critical point and the Prime Minister has been clear that restrictions will not be eased if the data does not support it. That’s why we all must keep going for a while longer and get infection rates right down.”
It shows:
- There were 555 new cases in Cumbria (a decrease of 173, -24 per cent, from 728 cases in the previous week);
- Allerdale overtook Copeland in having the greatest number of new cases (+150 new cases);
- Barrow overtook Copeland in having the highest rate of new cases (172 new cases per 100k population);
- Rates in Barrow, Allerdale and Copeland were above the national average rate (England = 120 new cases per 100k population);
- Rates in Barrow were also above the regional average rate (North West = 155 new cases per 100k population);
- New cases decreased from the previous week in all Cumbrian districts except Barrow and Allerdale;
- In Barrow and Allerdale cases increased by 15 per cent and 3 per cent respectively;
- The 45-54 age group accounted for the greatest number of new cases in Cumbria, followed closely by the 25-34, 55-64 and 35-44 age groups;
- There were decreases in new cases in all age groups in Cumbria, except the 0-4 and 12-18 age groups which experienced small increases;
- The greatest proportional decrease was seen in the 85+ age group, where new cases decreased by 72 per cent from the previous week.
