Increase in number of coronavirus cases in Wokingham borough

In Wokingham, the number of live coronavirus cases has increased slightly from three to 10, in a two-week period. The three positive cases were confirmed in the week June 29-July 5, and 10 cases in the week July 6-12.

The overall rate is well below England’s average number of cases: the borough has a rate of 356 confirmed cases per 100,000 people, against 447 per 100,000 people in England.

Council leader Cllr John Halsall said that he is not aware of any outbreaks, clusters or linked cases reported through test and trace.

“In our case, our rate (of coronavirus) is so low now, it’s a small percentile change,” he said.

“All our care homes are completely covid-free.”

The Prime Minister has announced that more places can reopen, including council-owned leisure centres. But Cllr Halsall is waiting further information as to the financial support that they will receive for doing so.

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“We’re trying to get clarification as to what that means,” Cllr Halsall said. “The Government has said it would help pay up to 75% of costs of leisure centres run by councils, but all Berkshire local authorities contract theirs out.”

And responding to the publication of the NHS Test and Trace service figures for the period 2-8 July 2020, Cllr Paulette Hamilton, Vice Chair of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Those testing positive for Covid-19 have a responsibility to help halt its transmission and protect those most at risk. It is good that the majority of people testing positive are being reached and are passing on details of their close contacts.

“Council public health teams remain ready to use their unique expertise, including speaking other languages, and understanding of their communities to try to reach those who cannot be contacted by the system. They need information on who they should be trying to contact, including the 618 people who could not be reached most recently.

“More information is being shared with councils but it is vital that this data is available daily. With the right powers, flexibilities, data and long-term funding, councils can help to manage potential outbreaks and prevent the spread of infection.”