Medical expert reveals ‘main reason’ why coronavirus case numbers are so high in Sheffield

The latest data from Public Health England shows Sheffield has the fourth highest number of cases by local authority in England, while a study noted ‘the ratio of cases confirmed in Sheffield has rapidly increased over the last few days, more rapidly than other cities of similar size’. To date, there have been 21 coronavirus-related deaths in the city.

But a public health expert criticised the daily update Public Health England provide on the number of cases in each area.

Dr Andrew Lee, a reader of global public health at Sheffield University and executive director of primary care and population health at NHS Vale of York clinical commissioning group, told the Guardian: “That tracker is really misleading. In some senses they should just turn it off because everywhere is testing differently. So you can’t compare place A with place B with place C. And it’s not like you’re just following a score because the interpretation of those numbers is really complicated.”

Greg Fell, the director of Public Health in Sheffield, previously told The Star the main reason Sheffield has such a high number of cases is that it has been testing more people – a statement Dr Lee agreed with.

It was also reported that Sheffield Teaching Hospitals trust began testing all symptomatic NHS workers before most other areas, as far back as 19 March.

And members of the public with symptoms have also been able to get tested at a temporary drive-through testing facility just off the Parkway since it opened at the beginning of last month.

Meanwhile, testing for NHS staff at many other hospitals only began last weekend. Dr Lee said healthcare workers were disproportionately likely to get infected and “not representative of the wider public.”

A spokesperson for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals trust also attributed the larger number of cases to the presence of a Specialist Infectious Diseases Unit at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, which is one of just five of its kind in the country and has been used to treat coronavirus patients.

The spokesperson said Sheffield's hospitals still have plenty of capacity to treat coronavirus patients.