Local COVID Update in Shifnal

We have recently received an update from the Director of Public Health in Shropshire.

Shifnal has one of the highest rates of infection of COVID in Shropshire, above Telford and only second to Wem. Therefore it is vital that we continue to observe government guidelines, socially distance and continue to take precautions in order to reduce the spread of the virus.

We have asked officers to pull together some figures to share with you as an update on this weeks figures compared to last weeks.

The following figures quoted are rates per 100,000.

The current rate is 1017 in Shifnal North which is a fall and 650.9 in Shifnal South and Cosford again a decline on last week. [Evidence that the current lock-down is having the desired effect].

We had a larger number of cases linked to an outbreak last week which may account for the rise and decline which does happen when the numbers are smaller relatively by ward.

This weeks figures concerns cases with a specimen date between 13/1/21 and 19/1/21 in Shifnal North and Shifnal South and Cosford:

• In this period, there were 80 cases among Shropshire residents, 46 in Shifnal North and 34 in Shifnal South and Cosford.
• 45 cases (56.3%) were female, 35 cases (43.8%) were male
• The age breakdown of cases was: 

0-9	7.5%
10-19	10.0%
20-29	22.5%
30-39	11.3%
40-49	8.8%
50-59	20.0%
60-69	10.0%
70+	10%

• The average age of cases was 40, with 16 (20%) aged over 60.
• A small number of cases (20%) were related to care homes and other settings

The team at Shropshire Council are currently looking at testing sites, and will be having conversations with the town council. 

They are looking at both moving the symptomatic testing site and possibly locating an asymptomatic site but this would be week commencing estimated the 1^st , to get the sites assessed and increase capacity.

The speed of vaccinations is accelerating but is relatively slow in Shropshire. The reason the NHS and CCG are having problems may be to do with the NHS Midlands sending the Pfizer Vaccine to Shropshire which is difficult to handle as it requires very low temperatures and most of our surgeries just don’t have the right facilities to deal with it effectively.

This week we will start receiving the Oxford Vaccine in much larger quantities and this is easier to store and move around in smaller quantities and is more suitable for our large diverse county. From next week we should also have vaccination centres available in Shrewsbury and Ludlow with Whitchurch opening shortly after. Government ministers have assured our local MPs that all the vulnerable groups in Shropshire will be vaccinated by the middle of February.