Sheffield coronavirus infection rate falls below 100 for first time since September

The Covid-19 infection rate in Sheffield dipped below 100 new cases per 100,000 people for the first time since September, according to figures for the latest week on record.
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The rate in Sheffield fell to 99.5 per 100,000 in the seven days to February 28, reflecting 582 new cases confirmed that week.

The week beforehand it was 136.4, which meant that 798 new cases were recorded.

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Sheffield’s Director for Public Health Greg Fell predicted the infection rate’s fall to this level, however he said he does not expect it to decrease much further.

Leanne Smith, a care home worker at Woodland View nursing home in Sheffield, getting her vaccination.Leanne Smith, a care home worker at Woodland View nursing home in Sheffield, getting her vaccination.
Leanne Smith, a care home worker at Woodland View nursing home in Sheffield, getting her vaccination.

He also warned that although this number is an improvement, the threat of Covid remains significant while there are unvaccinated members of the population.

Speaking during the week which the latest figures represent, he said: “I think it will probably get down to about 100 per 100,000 people and then flatline there.

"That is not a trivial number. We have got to a point where R is below one but not that far below. So for each case slightly less than one other person is infected. So the infection rate is going down but slowly.

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"I don’t think it will get back to as low as it was in the summer, when it was 20 or 30 per 100,000 people.

“This is because the Kent variant is now the most common in the country, accounting for around 75 per cent of cases. This variant is more infectious and has a longer period where it is infectious than the original strain. This means more people will be infected.

"The vaccines will help to protect the most vulnerable. The science on that is really positive. The evidence is all accumulating in the same direction and shows that the promised protection of the vaccine is playing out in practice.

"The evidence shows that vaccinated people are also far less likely to transmit the virus as well.”

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Meanwhile, the infection rate remains above 100 elsewhere in South Yorkshire.

For the week to February 28, it was 157.2 in Barnsley, 137.5 in Rotherham and 133.7 in Doncaster.

All of these rates reflect a fall in new cases since the week before.

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