New COVID-19 cases rose in Cumbria for the first time since late October, as the Government announced further measures to combat the spread of the Omicron variant.
1,512 new cases were confirmed in the week ending December 3, a 10% rise from 1,380 the previous week. Since the week ending October 22 cases have consistently fallen until now.
In response to increasing case rates nationally and growing concern about the potential impact of the Omicron variant, Government last night announced the implementation of so-called ‘Plan B’ measures, including:
- From December 10, mandatory face covering rules will be extended to most indoor settings (but will not include hospitality settings).
- From December 13, guidance will be for people to work from home if they can. Anyone who cannot work from home should continue to travel to their workplace.
- From December 15, introduction of mandatory certification for certain settings. This will mean a requirement to show vaccination status or a recent negative test to enter certain high risk settings.
In Cumbria, case rates remain below the England average, but Eden and Copeland are now higher than the north west regional average, having been lower for several weeks.
Colin Cox, Cumbria’s Director of Public Health, said: “We had been bucking the national trend, so it is perhaps surprising it has taken so long for cases to start rising again.
“While we’re still awaiting official confirmation, we do have a small number of cases in Cumbria which are very likely to be the Omicron variant – the individuals and their contacts are already self-isolating. We can certainly expect more cases of the Omicron variant locally in the coming days and weeks.
“The Plan B measures announced by the Prime Minister last night make sense, they do reduce transmission and I’d strongly encourage everyone to take heed and think carefully about what you do as we head towards Christmas. Remember that vaccination is still the best way of keeping yourself safe, and doing a lateral flow test before meeting up with other people helps protect everyone.
“It remains to be seen exactly what the impact of Omicron will be and whether these measures will be sufficient. I sincerely hope they are, as I share everyone’s frustration with the continued disruption COVID is causing.”
The latest COVID-19 situation report for the week ending December 3 can be found at www.cumbria.gov.uk/stopthespread.
