Blackburn goes from worst Covid hotspot to third-lowest infection rate in 12 months
People in the local community are being praised for the fall in cases
Last updated 9th Aug 2021
A BOROUGH has dropped from the worst coronavirus hotspot in England to the local authority with the third lowest infection rate in the country in just 12 months.
This week in August 2020 Blackburn with Darwen had the highest weekly Covid-19 rate out of 333 council areas and was under some of the tightest restrictions nationally.
Now it has dropped to 331st in the coronavirus infection league table.
The news of the fall has delighted council leader Cllr Mohammed Khan and borough public health director Professor Dominic Harrison – but they warned people to continue taking care to keep the disease under control.
The current case rate is 150.6 for every 100,000 residents,47 per cent lower than the England average with far more testing than in August 2020 making a direct statistical comparisons impossible.
Prof Harrison said: “It’s been a long and tough 12 months, but thanks to the continued efforts of all our local communities we’ve managed to get in control of our virus rates – and learnt such a lot along the way.
“I want to say a huge thank you to Blackburn with Darwen residents who have responded well to all the restrictions we’ve had to live under.
“The vast majority have followed the government guidance and our collective effort has undoubtedly helped to avoid more people getting infected and more families losing loved ones.
“We now know so much more about coronavirus, particularly after being one of the first areas in England to deal with a surge of the Delta variant in April.
“We were able to deal with this outbreak within eight weeks.
“We’ve now developed a robust response to ‘bumps in the road’.
“Other areas of England with less experience in handling outbreaks have seen much higher virus rates in the Delta variant wave.”
Cllr Khan said: “The autumn and winter could provide more challenges as we head into the flu season and spend more time indoors.
“I want to stress the importance of getting both doses of the Covid vaccine to ensure you’re fully protected.”
Prof Harrison said: “We are realistic in our expectations of living with coronavirus, and expect to see spikes after major events and celebrations.
“The Euros football tournament led to a small spike in local case rates, while the start of the school summer holidays, Eid celebrations and the end of legal restrictions on July 19 did not.
“As a borough we are now more resilient and, should we have another wave in the future, we’re far better equipped with knowledge and experience.”