More than 1,700 confirmed Delta variant cases across the South
Public Health England is warning that cases are continuing to rise
It has been confirmed that authorities across the South have recorded over 1,700 cases of the Delta coronavirus variant, that was first identified in India.
Public Health England's latest figures show that 1,742 cases were confirmed across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset and West Sussex as of Wednesday (June 16th).
The highest number of cases recorded in an authority in the South was in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, which recorded 254.
That is also the second highest total recorded anywhere in the South West, behind only the City of Bristol.
Southampton recorded 182 cases in that time, while there were 155 in Rushmoor, 119 in Hart and 93 in Test Valley.
At the other end of the scale, the Isle of Wight recorded only 17 cases in that time.
PHE's weekly Covid-19 variant cases data show that numbers of the Delta variant in the UK have risen by 33,630 since last week to a total of 75,953.
And the most recent data shows 99% of sequenced and genotyped cases across the country are the Delta variant.
Data shows an increased risk of hospitalisation with Delta compared to Alpha, although Public Health England’s analysis shows that two doses of vaccine give a high degree of protection against hospitalisation, estimated to be more than 90%.
According to Public Health England’s latest Variant Technical Briefing, as of 14th June, a total of 806 people had been hospitalised with the Delta Variant, an increase of 423 since last week. 527 of these were unvaccinated, and only 84 of the 806 had received both doses.
Public Health England now publishes the number of deaths among people who have tested positive for Delta within the past 28 days. The case fatality rate remains low for Delta. However, deaths tend to happen some weeks after infections and the majority of cases were confirmed less than 28 days ago. It is therefore too early to judge the case fatality of Delta compared to Alpha or other variants.
Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said:
"Cases are rising rapidly across the country and the Delta variant is now dominant. The increase is primarily in younger age groups, a large proportion of which were unvaccinated but are now being invited to receive the vaccine. It is encouraging to see that hospitalisations and deaths are not rising at the same rate but we will continue to monitor it closely. The vaccination programme and the care that we are all taking to follow the guidance are continuing to save lives.
"Please make sure that you come forward to receive both doses of the vaccine as soon as you are eligible. Don’t drop your guard – practise ‘hands, face, space, fresh air’ at all times."
You can find all the data here.