Peterborough health authorities say Covid spikes in some areas were expected

Test and tracing will be key to containing infection spikes in the city.

There have been recent reports of increased infection rates in Millfield and Central Park areas of the city, but Dr Liz Robin said that was not uncommon.

According to official statistics, the Central Park area had 57 cases, a rise of 27 in the week up to November 19 (90 per cent).

Moreover, Millfield & Bourges Boulevard had 41 cases, a rise of 19 (86.4 per cent) compared to the week before.

“We get spikes in many different parts of Peterborough, Covid spreads in all communities and inner cities are often high risk areas,” she said.

Dr Robin explained that there is a growing body of national evidence that indicates central urban areas are at higher risk when it comes to spreading the virus due to the high density of housing with lots of people living closely together and often multiple occupants in a household making infection easier due to increased contact.

She added: “There are some jobs that put you more at risk too.

“Front line jobs and working in food processing factory environments are riskier and a lot of people in Peterborough are doing those front line jobs, but a lot of employers are doing a great job in reducing infection risk.”

Dr Robin said the authorities were continuing to work on their successful local contact tracing, picking up on those individuals who are missed by the national scheme.

They would continue to analyse the data and identify where clusters of cases come from, coming up with better ways to contain the spread effectively.

But she insisted that this was something being employed across all areas of the city.

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