Urgent plea to area where Covid case rates were DOUBLE the total for Cornwall
Officials say figures are falling in Camborne, Pool and Redruth, but slower than the rest of the Duchy
Last updated 26th Oct 2021
The coronavirus case rate in parts of Camborne, Pool and Redruth has reached more than double the overall total for Cornwall in recent weeks and has now sparked an urgent plea to help drive those figures down.
It is currently 863.6 per 100,000 people in Pool and Illogan Highway and officials say that while figures are falling, they are falling slower than the rest of the Duchy.
What do the figures show?
Cornwall recorded 2987 new cases of coronavirus in the week to Wednesday the 20th of October, giving the Duchy a case rate of 519 per 100,000 people.
However, the case rate for Pool and Illogan Highway currently stands at 863.6.
It is 760 in Camborne West, 616.4 in Camborne East, 577.4 in Camborne South and 552.5 in Redruth North.
The council's Public Health Team says the number of unvaccinated people in those areas is higher than the rest of Cornwall in almost every age group.
In the 20 to 29-year-old age group, 46% of males are yet to have their second vaccine, compared to an average in Cornwall of 39%
You can use the government's interactive map to check the latest coronavirus figures for Cornwall and the UK.
We have been given an exclusive interview with Cornwall Council's Assistant Director of Public Health to talk about the area's high case rates and what residents can do to help.
Ruth Goldstein tells us that as well as getting vaccinated, she would like to see people wearing face masks and sticking to social distancing in public places.
Ruth said: "There are things they can do. The prime one is getting their vaccinations when they are being asked to do that. We see from looking at the data around all of our vaccinations, that actually in this area there are more people unvaccinated in just about every age group and every category, whether it's male or female.
"We think that's part of the reason why the data's so high still for Camborne, Pool, Redruth and Illogan and it's definitely one of the reasons that we really want to get the message out to people to get their vaccines as soon as they're invited.
"Even if you were invited a few weeks ago, then please go and get it anyway now. Even a few months ago you might then have chosen not to get it but now, as cases are rising, you may feel more vulnerable because you're not vaccinated. Those offers to get vaccinated are always open; we'll be delighted to see you no matter when you were first invited".
Ruth also responded to reports that people in the Camborne, Pool and Redruth area are not taking enough care or caution when out in public places.
She has this message for residents and visitors during half-term: "Since the middle of July when all the regulations were removed and it really became up to individuals what they did, we have definitely seen a slowing down of people complying with those really sensible public health mitigations like keeping a safe space from people and wearing face masks.
"I don't know whether this area's any worse than the rest of Cornwall. We've definitely seen, you know, if you went into supermarkets in the first week you'd still see most people with them on, now when you go in you see most people without them on.
"We're really trying to encourage people to do the right thing though, even though it's not mandatory, and trying to encourage people to wear face coverings in shops and inside places and to keep to social distancing wherever possible.
"I know there's nothing we can do to force people to do it but it makes common sense and while our numbers are high, we really do think it will help to reduce the possibility of transmission and possibly the transition of going into more draconian measures like lockdowns etc.
"We really don't want to get back to that position so the more we can encourage people to do things voluntarily, the better it would be".