One year on: Call to remain vigilant amid vaccine hope
It is one year tomorrow since the UK recorded its first case of Covid – and the West Midlands continues to find itself in the line of fire.
At the time the event was reported as almost a footnote in the news, without any feeling of alarm or sense of the devastation that was to come.
Today the death toll linked to hospitals in the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire stands at more than 6,000, including 412 in the last week alone.
The vaccine has brought hope, with the Midlands leading the way in the number of jabs administered to priority groups.
However, concerns remain that some vulnerable communities are missing out.
And while coronavirus cases have started to fall across the region, health experts today warned people they must remain vigilant. They say the key lesson of the last 12 months is that we can never be off our guard.
Data
New figures today reveal the four Black Country boroughs remain in the top 20 areas in the country for infection rates, after 7,427 new cases were recorded in a week.
In Sandwell the rate is 704.2 cases per 100,000 – down 24 per cent on the previous week.
Wolverhampton's rate is 640.6, a fall of 27 per cent; in Walsall and Dudley the rates have dropped by one fifth to 594.8 and 537.6 respectively.
Across parts of Staffordshire cases fell by 19 per cent to 1,725 over the week.
The rate in South Staffordshire is 489.2 cases per 100,000, down 20 per cent. Cannock Chase's rate is 409.9, a fall of 21 per cent, and the infection rate in Lichfield fell 13 per cent to 340.8.
In Stafford the rate is now 295, a fall of 22 per cent.
Pressure on hospitals
But the region’s health chiefs say there is still a tremendous amount of pressure on hospitals. There are currently more than 300 people in New Cross Hospital with Covid, while Walsall Manor drafted in Army medics after the number of coronavirus patients hit 50 per cent more than the April peak.
David Loughton, chief executive of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said: "This is real; please help us stop the spread of the virus and, I really cannot overemphasise this, when you are offered the vaccine, please take the vaccine."
John Denley, Wolverhampton's director of public health, said: "It's crucial that we all continue to do everything we can to keep the people we love safe.
"Please don't be tempted to bend the rules. Continue to practice social distancing, good hand washing and wear face coverings where required – and most importantly, stay home unless absolutely necessary."
The last 12 months has seen a surge in community volunteering in schemes like food banks as well as solidarity through Clap for Carers.
Today one expert said the public had shown “heroic” fortitude and compliance. Professor Stephen Reicher said he had been amazed by the“ongoing resilience” of the public.
