New variant Covid may be linked to Peterborough’s rise in cases

Peterborough's city centre was busy on Saturday - shoppers were unaware at that time that the city would be placed into Tier 4 and many stores would be closing following Sunday's tighter restrictions coming into force.

A city council statement said it is thought that increasing levels of infection in Peterborough after the end of the November lockdown, may be associated with the new variant of the disease which is being seen across London, and the East and South East of England. “The new variant is up to 70 per cent easier to catch, and this may have contributed to the increases seen in Peterborough and also elsewhere,” said Dr Robin.

“However, there is currently no evidence that the virus leads to worse outcomes than other variants.”

Peterborough was placed into the highest Tier 4 of the government’s Covid restrictions on Sunday and Dr Robin urged residents to follow the new rules.

Figures released last night covering the seven days to December 17 showed the city had a new case rate of 390.1, cases per 100,000 of population which represented 789 new cases compared with a rate of 262.5 the previous week, (531 new cases).

Dr Robin added: “All of the new Tier 4 restrictions placed on Peterborough and elsewhere in England, are aimed to achieve just one thing.

“That is to reduce people’s contact with anyone outside their household /support bubble to the absolute minimum, as it is contact with other people which spreads the virus.

“It’s also important to be even more rigorous about observing the ‘hands, face, space’ rules that we are all familiar with and to keep rooms well ventilated. The same Covid-19 prevention measures will work against all variants of the virus, but we need to be even more rigorous in how we apply them.”

The tier 4 restrictions mean that the rules don’t change on Christmas Day so people are no longer allowed to form a Christmas bubble and mix with family and friends they don’t live with.

Dr Robin is reminding people of the support that will be available should they need it this Christmas and urging people to seek help if they need to.

She added: “We appreciate that this will be very difficult for some people, and there is support for those who may be lonely or isolated, or who suddenly need very practical support – and I would encourage them to phone the countywide co-ordination hub on 0345 045 5219.

“For anyone whose mental health is being more severely impacted, there is the Lifeline support number 0808 808 2121 which operates daily from 11am to 11pm and for people with a mental health crisis you can phone the NHS 111 number and ask for Option 2. More information about mental health support is available on the Keep Your Head website www.keep-your-head.com

“There is hope for the future as we now have a safe and effective vaccine which is being rolled out nationally. But it will take until at least March for enough people to have been vaccinated to protect the vulnerable in our community and reduce pressures on the NHS.

“Until then we must all comply with the Tier 4 restrictions to keep our infection levels down, and make sure that by Christmas 2021 things look very different.”

Peterborough placed in Tier 4 Covid restrictions following Prime Minister’s announcement

What you can and cannot do as Covid Tier 4 restrictions start in Peterborough

The new Christmas rules as Peterborough enters Tier 4 Covid restrictions