Covid Sheffield: New figures show city has highest infection rate in region

New figures reveal that Sheffield has the highest Covid infection rate in the region.
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According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), figures show that there are more people testing positive for Covid in Sheffield than anywhere else in Yorkshire and the Humber.

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The figures were calculated as an average over the seven days to March 12, 2022, and refer to infections among people in private households.

New figures reveal that Sheffield has the highest infection rate across Yorkshire and the HumberNew figures reveal that Sheffield has the highest infection rate across Yorkshire and the Humber
New figures reveal that Sheffield has the highest infection rate across Yorkshire and the Humber
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The estimates are based on sample sizes that are smaller than those used for the national and regional figures. This means there is more uncertainty around the figures and caution should be taken when interpreting or ranking them, the ONS said.

In Sheffield, 5.86 per cent of people in the city – one in 17 – tested positive over the seven days to March 12.

The figures for Barnsley showed that 3.43 per cent of the population – one in 30 – tested positive.

Data for Doncaster and Rotherham was combined and revealed 3.28 per cent – one in 30 – were found to have Covid that week.

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March 17 marked the second anniversary of the day the first person in Sheffield died of Covid – 78-year-old Leonard Gibson, from Oughtibridge.

He explained: “I’m still wearing a mask. Although it is hard to quantify, all the evidence from all over the world says they have made a huge difference, in schools and well beyond. I don’t know when I will stop. There will come a point when I stop. But right now there is still quite a lot of virus circulating, and I know it is still causing people to be poorly.

“I don’t want that and I’d still recommend wearing masks. But I know the Government have chosen to move away from them being mandatory.”

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He added: “We’re not seeing a great deal of hospitalisation now. But Covid is still causing people to be poorly.

“It is not causing the same level of harm as two years ago when it was a new virus. We have become accustomed to it, and there is a continuum of complacency. Some are complacent, some are scared still, and most are somewhere in between.”