Lowest number of coronavirus cases in Devon and Cornwall since start of October
The two counties recorded 835 positive tests between February 12-19
The lowest weekly number of coronavirus cases confirmed across Devon and Cornwall since the start of October has been recorded – with West Devon averaging less than one case a day.
A total of 835 new cases were confirmed across the two counties in the last week – the lowest since the week ending October 2 – with the total since the start of the pandemic at 44,939.
Devon also has the lowest infection rates of any upper tier authority in England, with Plymouth second and Cornwall third, and at a lower tier level, the four lowest infection rates are all in Devon.
Government statistics show that 835 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 1,169 new cases confirmed last week.
Of the 835 new cases confirmed since February 12, 241 were in Cornwall, with 81 in East Devon, 92 in Exeter, 57 in Mid Devon, 23 in North Devon, 127 in Plymouth, 13 in South Hams, 65 in Teignbridge, 119 in Torbay, 11 in Torridge and 6 in West Devon.
This compares of the 1,169 cases confirmed between February 6 and 12, of which, were in Cornwall, with 90 in East Devon, 68 in Exeter, 101 in Mid Devon, 24 in North Devon, 145 in Plymouth, 39 in South Hams, 105 in Teignbridge, 149 in Torbay, 11 in Torridge and 12 in West Devon
While the numbers in Exeter have risen slightly, this is almost entirely down to an outbreak at Exeter Prison, with roughly half the cases attributed to this one setting.
A total of 626 of the cases in the past week have a specimen date between February 12 and 18, with 184 in Cornwall, 59 in East Devon, 64 in Exeter, 40 in Mid Devon, 18 in North Devon, 101 in Plymouth, 13 in South Hams, 53 in Teignbridge, 83 in Torbay, 8 in Torridge and 3 in West Devon.
At upper tier level, Devon has the lowest infection rate in England at 46.1/100,000, and is the lowest since September 30, with Plymouth having the second lowest and Cornwall third.
The number of patients in all of Devon’s hospitals following a positive Covid-19 test has fallen to its lowest figure since October – with no patients at all in North Devon Hospital – and a fall everywhere in Devon and Cornwall
As of Tuesday morning (Feb 16), there were 213 patients across the county in hospital after a positive test, down on the 325 as of the previous Tuesday, a drop of a third in previous seven days.
Patient numbers have fallen in all of Devon’s hospitals, and Devon’s figures are slightly inflated by the fact that they have been taking in patients from elsewhere in the country, including Somerset and Dorset, because in those regions, they are closer to capacity than Devon is.
The figure for the RDE is the lowest since November 1, Torbay since January 10, Derriford since January 1, and North Devon’s no patients is the first time October 4 any of Devon’s hospitals has recorded that figure.
And the number of patients in mechanical ventilation beds across the two counties is down as well to 22, from 27 last week, with 11 in Derriford, six in Torbay and five in Exeter. In Cornwall, the number is nine, down from 14.
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 have been 24 deaths in Devon and Cornwall hospitals of patients within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test, with 14 in Cornwall, four in Plymouth, four in Torbay, and two in Exeter.
It comes as more than a third of the adult population of Devon and Cornwall. have now had their first Covid-19 vaccine, latest NHS England figures show.
The statistics, which provide the position as of February 14, show that there have been 355,271 vaccines delivered in Devon, with 342,397 of them being the first dose. More than 70,000 vaccinations were carried out in the last week.
Cornwall has seen 163,549 vaccine first doses given, a total of 34.4 per cent of its adult population.
The figures for Devon, which will have risen in the most recent days, are by far the highest number of vaccinations for any of the regions within the South West and they show that 34.2 per cent of the population had received their first jab. This is up on the 27.1 per cent as of February 7
The statistics show that as of Sunday, of the 79,525 estimated population of over 80s within Devon, 78,039 had received their first vaccine – a total of 98.1 per cent, with 10,912 – 13.7 per cent – having also had the second dose, with Devon’s population of over 80s is significantly higher than every other region – more than double in some instances
Of those aged 75-79, 57,413 people have received the first dose of the vaccine – an estimated 104.3 per cent of the cohort, suggesting that the ONS 2019 estimates they are based on are out of date, while 73,108 of those aged 70-74, an estimated 92 per cent of the cohort – had as of Sunday had at least one dose.
And 133,837 under 70s, both those employed in health and social care settings, and some in the next cohorts from the priority list, had received the first dose of the vaccination as of Sunday – 17 per cent of the total under 70s.
Of the total population of Devon, 12,874, people, 1.2 per cent have also had their second dose.