Covid rates in Blackburn with Darwen continue to rise
The latest figures show the borough has the second highest rate in England
Last updated 19th May 2021
Blackburn with Darwen's Covid-19 case rate continues to rise as it becomes the second highest rate in England behind Bolton.
It's up from 86.2 per 100,000 people to 131.6, with 197 new cases in the seven days to May 14th.
The Indian variant is currently the dominant strain.
It comes as health bosses in Lancashire are urging people to get the vaccination as soon as possible if they're over the age of 36 or over the age of 18 with underlying health conditions in the area.
The prime minister says he's keeping the Indian variant of coronavirus under close watch.
Boris Johnson's suggested he won't wait until the next review on the 14th of June if he needs to take further action.
Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, Public Health Director for Lancashire, said: "We are seeing the cases of the variant that was first detected in India rising exponentially, although they are small in number I have to say.
"We are aware and concerned that it is more transmissible than the prevailing strain that was first detected in Kent.
"We think that given the exponential rise in the cases, given the high transmissibility, given the further significant unlocking that's happening, that we are anticipating the cases to rise in the coming weeks.
Dr Karunanithi said it was vital people who were eligible for the vaccine came forward: "We believe that if we take that action now, we still have time to prevent further spread and for the new variant to become established in the community as wide spread as it could have happened if people haven't come forward for the vaccine."
Dominic Harrison, Public Health Director for Blackburn with Darwen, said: Where we think we need to go is to rule out lockdowns unless there is absolute and unequivocal evidence of a risk to the NHS being overwhelmed by increased cases.
"We also need to learn how to manage variants, because of course we have an Indian variant now but it's highly likely over the next 12 months that the UK will see a number of variants come in."