Covid-19 cases surge among Rotherham's workers
Rotherham's local infection rate is above the national average
Rotherham health bosses have raised concerns over increasing cases of coronavirus among the working age population in the borough.
While the town is seeing a decrease in rates in the over 60s and school children, there has been a surge in those heading to work.
It is thought it could be down to commuting and sitting in places like offices.
As plans are laid out for national restrictions to relax, those who fall into that group are being urged to get tested for the virus in order to get infection rates down and allow more opening up as we come out of lockdown.
Rotherham Council’s Director of Public Health, Ben Anderson, said: “Residents have done a fantastic job at stopping the spread of COVID to the most vulnerable people in our communities, and we are all glad that there is light at the end of the tunnel. But we are not there yet, and locally we are actually now seeing a slight rise in cases amongst those of working age.
“There are concerns that the new, more transmissible variant is spreading within this age group, which may relate to the need to travel to and attend workplaces or wider community transmission. Overall the infection rate locally is now significantly higher than the national average. We know that the majority of businesses are doing a great job at keeping their staff safe, but the increased transmissibility of the current variant and increased interactions amongst those needing to work means that residents are still picking up the virus when they are going to work or out in the community. It’s really important that we all follow the guidelines in our places of work, in the community and on public transport so that we keep safe and can get infection rates down to allow more opening up as we come out of lockdown.
“As we enter into the next few months, we all want this to be over as quickly as possible. But I cannot stress enough how important it is that everyone follows the guidelines and abides by lockdown rules, otherwise we will not make as much progress as we all want as quickly as we can. We’ve seen how quickly the virus can spread if given an opportunity and we know how easily the Kent variant can spread so please, stay at home where possible and continue to follow the guidelines and wear face coverings in the workplace and when out and about in the community.”
Rotherham Council are advising residents of all ages to get tested if they show any of the core COVID-19 symptoms:
*New persistent cough
*Temperature
*Loss of smell or taste
The Council are also advising residents of working age that they should get a test as a precaution if they have any of the following symptoms:
*Headaches
*Aches and pains
*Feeling very tired for no good reason
*Sore throat
*Runny nose
*Sneezing
Residents can book a test at one of the four local testing sites across the borough, including the new walk-through test site at Herringthorpe Stadium, or request a home test by going online at www.nhs.gov.uk/coronavirus or calling 119.