Health chiefs respond after areas of Chesterfield and Derbyshire report higher Covid infection rates than before lockdown

Coronavirus cases have plummeted across England since lockdown was imposed, from 557.9 cases per 100,000 on December 31 to 148.8 in the seven days to February 11.

However, there are several areas around Chesterfield where rates have increased – and this is causing concern for the county’s public health teams and politicians.

Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins said it was ‘disappointing’ rates were higher than before lockdown in some areas – and claimed this was probably due to the Government’s relaxation of restrictions over Christmas.

Areas of Chesterfield which saw more cases on February 11 than on December 31 include Chesterfield Central, where the rate increased from 175.9 to 207 per 100,000; Old Whittington, which saw a rise from 180.9 to 236.6; New Whittington, which increased from 139.6 to 203.1; Brimington South, where the rate rose from 237.4 to 251.4, and Inkersall Green which saw an increase from 183.5 to 288.4.

Elsewhere in Derbyshire, increases were also seen in Bolsover North and Shuttlewood, Shirebrook North, Bakewell South, Youlgreave and Taddington, Matlock North and parts of Erewash and Derby.

A spokesperson for NHS Derby and Derbyshire CCG said: “Reducing infection rates is vitally important and our efforts to follow government rules and guidelines are making a real difference.

"Together we are reducing the spread of coronavirus in Derbyshire but there’s still work to be done.

“The vaccination programme is a big step forward in the fight against the illness but everyone needs to carry on with the basics – hands, face, space – and continue to follow the rules. Official figures up to February 7 showed 92.5 per cent of people aged over 70 in Derbyshire had received a vaccination, which was the top performance for any system across the Midlands and the second best in England.

“Testing is another vital element and Derbyshire County Council have opened a number of community testing sites across Derbyshire to help combat the spread of coronavirus in our communities.

"The community testing programme offers regular testing for those who are not displaying symptoms and are at most risk of passing on the virus. Community testing helps to identify people with COVID-19 and so break the transmission chain.”

Labour MP Mr Perkins said: “It is disappointing that a few parts of the borough have Covid rates that are higher now than they were before lockdown in December. We all know that the Government’s failure over Christmas led to a huge expansion in the infection rates, and this is still being felt.

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“Our NHS workers have been under such pressure for so long with the extremely busy critical care capacity at the Royal and whilst there is fantastic work being done locally on the vaccination programme, with Chesterfield having caught up with the rest of Derbyshire, this shows that we cannot be complacent.

“I understand how tough it is but we all want the current lockdown to be ended as quickly as possible, so that our children can get back to school and businesses can start to make money again and by sticking to the rules we can hope to be out of this lockdown sooner rather than later.”

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