Number of confirmed Covid cases across Cornwall and Devon halves in a week
In the Duchy there was more than a 50% drop
The number of new coronavirus cases confirmed across Devon and Cornwall have nearly halved in the previous seven days – with cases falling everywhere.
A total of 1,266 new cases have been confirmed across the two counties – the lowest since the week ending October 16 – and Friday’s figure of 97 cases is the first ‘double figure’ total since October 2.
In all 11 regions of Devon and Cornwall, cases have fallen, with Cornwall, Plymouth, the South Hams and Torbay seeing a more than 50 per cent drop.
Government statistics show that 1,266 new cases have been confirmed across the region in the past seven days in both pillar 1 data from tests carried out by the NHS and pillar 2 data from commercial partners, compared to 2,367 new cases confirmed last week.
Of the 1,266 new cases confirmed since November 20, 232 were in Cornwall, with 180 in East Devon, 141 in Exeter, 59 in Mid Devon, 104 in North Devon, 231 in Plymouth, 33 in South Hams, 73 in Teignbridge, 119 in Torbay, 51 in Torridge and 43 in West Devon.
This compares to the 2,367cases confirmed between November 14 and 20 of which, 478 were in Cornwall, 244 in East Devon, 220 in Exeter, 79 in Mid Devon, 170 in North Devon, 597 in Plymouth, 89 in the South Hams, 108 in Teignbridge, 263 in Torbay, 66 in Torridge and 53 in West Devon.
Of the 1,266 new cases, 970 had a specimen date between November 20 and 26, with 171 in Cornwall, 152 in East Devon, 101 in Exeter, 40 in Mid Devon, 84 in North Devon, 179 in Plymouth, 25 in South Hams, 62 in Teignbridge, 86 in Torbay, 42 in Torridge and 28 in West Devon.
By specimen date, only Torridge isn’t seeing a fall in cases, although it’s total number of cases are one of the lowest in the region, and although East Devon and Teignbridge had seen a ‘one day spike’ in their rolling averages, they are now falling again as well.
The number of people in hospital in the South West has fallen in the last seven days, now at 938 from 942 last Friday, although there are currently 67 patients in mechanical ventilation beds, up from 65 as of last Friday.
The number of patients in hospital across Devon and Cornwall following a positive Covid-19 test has risen since last week – but only just.
NHS England figures show that as of Tuesday morning (November 24), there were 272 patients across Devon and Cornwall, in hospital after a positive Covid-19 test. This compares to 265 as of November 17.
But while the number of patients in the Royal Devon and Exeter, North Devon and Cornish hospitals has increased, Torbay Hospital has seen a decrease for the second week running, while Derriford Hospital has seen its number drop by more than 40 per cent.
The figures show there were 128 patients in the Royal Devon and Exeter (up from 106), 53 in Derriford Hospital in Plymouth (down from 90), 35 in Torbay Hospital (down from 39), 29 in North Devon District Hospital (up from 18), nine at the Royal Cornwall Hospital (up from six), six in Cornish Partnership Trust hospitals (up from 4), while 11 beds at Livewell SouthWest facilities in Plymouth (up from 2) and one bed at Devon Partnership Trust facilities (up from 0) were also occupied.
There were 16 patients in Mechanical Ventilation beds, down from 19, with one patient in Torbay Hospital, five at the RD&E and North Devon District Hospital, and ten at Derriford Hospital, with none in Cornwall.
The figures show the amount of patients in hospital following a positive COVID-19 test who are currently occupying a bed.
But not every patient would necessarily have been admitted to hospital due to COVID-19, with a number of patients either contracting the virus inside the hospital, or being admitted for unrelated reasons but subsequently testing positive asymptotically when given routine tests.
In the last week, there 21 deaths within hospitals in Devon and Cornwall within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 death, with nine in Exeter, two in Torbay, six in Plymouth, three in North Devon, and one in Cornwall.
And while NHS 111 data for Cornwall is slightly up on last week, Devon is down 25 per cent and at the lowest level since August 22, and the R-Rate for the South West fallen to 0.9-1.1 from 1.0-1.3.
In terms of the latest MSOA cluster maps, that cover the period of specimen dates between November 16 and November 22, Callington and Pensilva (21), Bodmin East (20), Wonford and St Loye’s (20), and Barnstaple Sticklepath (20) are the only four areas with a cluster of 20 or more – compared to 29 last week.
Ottery St Mary and West Hill (17), Cullompton (15), Efford, Laira & Crabtree (18), Ivybridge (7), Starcross and Exminster (12), Higher Brixham and Preston and Shorton (18), Hartland Coast (11) and Okehampton (10) are the areas in the other districts with the highest cluster numbers.
It comes as Steve Brown, Devon’s Director of Public Health Devon (Designate) said this week that going into Tier 2 will give the best chance for Devon to see cases continue to fall.
“When we were in Tier 1, prior to the current national restrictions, we saw continued rising cases,” he said.
“It’s only been recently, as a result of the national lockdown, that we have seen those cases plateau and ultimately start to fall.
“Devon going into Tier 2 is the best chance for us to continue to see those cases fall.”
The COVID-19 cases are identified by taking specimens from people and sending these specimens to laboratories around the UK to be tested. If the test is positive, this is a referred to as a lab-confirmed case.
Confirmed positive cases are matched to ONS geographical area codes using the home postcode of the person tested.
Cases received from laboratories by 12.30am are included in the counts published that day. While there may have been new cases of coronavirus confirmed or people having tested positive, those test results either yet to reach PHE for adding to the dataset or were not received in time for the latest daily figures to be published.