Hopes extra Covid measures for Cornwall could help ease pressure on Treliske
The Duchy and Devon are now an Enhanced Response Area
It is hoped that Cornwall becoming an Enhanced Response Area for coronavirus will help ease pressure on Treliske.
We are going to get a government support package for the next five weeks, following a surge in cases of Covid-19.
That will include more capacity for testing and contact tracing, along with help to boost the vaccine uptake.
Truro and Falmouth MP Cherilyn Mackrory told us it will help our struggling health service.
She said: "Everybody's seen that Treliske has been under a lot of pressure this year, and this is one way that we can stop more admissions going in, helping to ensure that Treliske is not overwhelmed because of Covid."Covid is only one reason why we're seeing Treliske under pressure this summer, the amount of tourists that we've seen this year is unprecedented, and on top of that we've seen quite a dramatic fall in the domiciliary caring sector.
"At A&E, those front doors are still overwhelmed, and we're not seeing people released from the back door, if you like, into the care sector as quickly as we'd like. So it's not just a Covid issue, but we can see that Covid is contributing to that, I think we've got something like 32 people in Treliske at the moment, seven in ICU."
However, she has stressed that being designated an Enhanced Response Area does not mean a return to lockdown or enforced restrictions.
The Duchy recorded 3,849 cases in the week to Wednesday 25th of August, giving us a case rate of 668.8 per 100,000 people.
Although some areas are almost three times as high as that, at 1906.5 per 100,000 people in Newquay East.
Enhanced response measures include a greater capacity for testing and contact tracing, help to boost the vaccine uptake and more guidelines, such as recommending face masks for pupils in 'communal areas in educational settings'.