Treat Sheffield coronavirus 'hotspot' claims with caution, health boss warns

Figures released by Public Health England for confirmed positive tests show Sheffield as the local authority with the fourth highest infection rate in the country.

And yesterday, data released by the Centre for Cities said coronavirus was spreading quicker in Sheffield than any other city outside London.

However, Greg Fell, Sheffield’s director of public health, said there were a number of factors which needed to be taken into account before making assumptions that the city was a ‘hotspot’ for the virus.

He said: “For example, in the earlier part of the outbreak, we undertook more community and contact testing than some other areas of the country and now our hospitals are testing patients and staff which also adds to our data.

"The testing being undertaken by our hospitals is a positive thing to do because it means vital staff can return to work if they test negative and early appropriate actions can be taken if there is a positive case either in a member of staff or patient. Testing limits the spread of the virus and that has to be a good thing for our city.”

Mr Fell also reiterated that everyone in Sheffield could help limit the spread of coronavirus by following Government advice on regular handwashing and social distancing.

“Science tells us that if everyone plays their part we can reduce the impact of this virus in our city,” he added.

A further insight into why the city has higher figures than other comparable places was provided by Cariad Evans, a consultant virologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.

Speaking on Twitter, she said the Sheffied testing laboratory was one of the earliest to begin testing for coronavirus and were currently doing 1,000 per day.

This amounted to approximately 10 per cent of the UK total or one person in every 500, she added.

Yesterday, managers at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals confirmed testing of hospital staff was underway but did not reveal how many had so far been completed.

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