Agenda item

The Director of Public Health will give a presentation on the latest measures being taken to tackle the spread of Covic-19.

The Committee received a presentation from the Director of Public Health which provided an update on the spread of Covid-19 in Leicestershire and the actions taken to tackle the problem. A copy of the presentation slides, marked ‘Agenda Item 14’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the presentation the following points were noted:

(i)          The Covid-19 outbreak which occurred in Oadby and Wigston over the summer covered the whole District whereas the recent outbreak in Melton was more localised so different strategies were required for each outbreak. When outbreaks such as these occurred Incident Management Teams were set up involving the Director of Public Health, colleagues from the County Council Communications Team, and from the relevant District Councils. Messages and leaflets were disseminated to the public. A strategy was in place to ensure testing was taking place where it was most needed and the post code data which was now available helped target this work.

(ii)         The spread of Covid-19 had escalated rapidly over the previous few days not just in Leicestershire but nationally. Of most concern was the rise in cases in people under 40 and particularly in the 20-29 age group. Work had been taking place to instil good behaviours amongst the population of Leicestershire but further work was required and a strategy needed to be put in place urgently. The Cabinet Lead Member for Health and Wellbeing emphasised the need for messages to be disseminated to all age groups regarding social distancing.

(iii)       Concerns were raised by members about testing capacity, the distance people were being required to travel to be tested, and the availability of online tests. In response the Director of Public Health explained that the issues with testing capacity related more to laboratory capacity rather than not having enough appointments available at testing centres. The Director was concerned about the number of people attending test centres without symptoms and messages needed to be sent to the public about not getting tested unless they had Covid-19 symptoms. The Director of Public Health was of the view that targeted testing was more appropriate than mass testing because mass testing could result in more false positives.

(iv)       The testing data which was now going into the public domain was more up to date than previously and related to an average over the previous 7 days. The Director did have sight of even more up to date data which enabled him to have a better idea of trends. This particular data had heavily influenced the approach that was being taken nationally to halt the spread of Covid-19 as well as the current approach the Director was taking in places such as Harborough and Wigston.

(v)        It was acknowledged that there was a risk relating to the number of students returning to Loughborough University but it was not considered to be appropriate to close the University down. The greatest concern related not to when students were in the teaching environment which would be more regulated in terms of social distancing, but related to informal gatherings when students were mingling in their own free time. Work had taken place with Charnwood Borough Council colleagues to deliver messages to students regarding social distancing. The business case had been approved for a local testing centre in Loughborough which was approximately one mile away from the University campus.

(vi)       There were no plans to move the Blaby testing centre away from County Hall, Glenfield. Discussions had taken place with Blaby District council colleagues and this was the best site available.

RESOLVED:

That the update regarding the spread of Covid-19 in Leicestershire and actions being taken to prevent further spread be noted.