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Sandwell community should ‘feel proud’ as Covid-19 infection rates fall |
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Covid-19 rates in Sandwell have shown a significant decline over the last month.
The current weekly infection rate in the borough is 852.8 per 100,000 population, which is about one third of what it was in the first week of January at the height of the Omicron surge.
This is now one of the lowest rates in the West Midlands region.
Peak rates from the Covid-19 dashboard show that Sandwell’s infection rate was 2,451, compared to the Black Country average of 2,594.
At the start of the Omicron surge in December 2021, the Sandwell Public Health Team redesigned its local contact tracing service to use ‘s-gene’ data that helped them pick up cases of the new variant early. This broke the chain of infection earlier and with greater effect.
Dr Lisa McNally, Sandwell Council’s director of public health, praised the local community for their response.
She said: “Our contact tracing and outbreak response helped fight back against a very virulent strain of the virus. But none of that works without a great response from the local community.
“This isn’t the first time in the pandemic that Sandwell residents have responded positively to a surge in case rates. They listened to the advice and took the actions that they needed to take to keep themselves and their families safe.
“This battle isn’t over and the virus hasn’t gone away. But the people of Sandwell community should once again feel proud of how they rose to the challenge of the pandemic.”
Councillor Suzanne Hartwell, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for adults, social care and health, said: “The direct impact of the virus has affected Sandwell people profoundly and disproportionately. During the pandemic, Sandwell Council has been bringing partners together and collaborating with residents to understand the needs of our communities and to respond rapidly.
“I want to thank our residents for their continued contributions in fighting this virus – their efforts have seen the numbers fall dramatically. But we must remain vigilant, follow the Covid guidelines and continue to protect our families, friends and colleagues.” |