Third of recorded Northants Covid-19 cases have been in Northampton

New data released by the government yesterday has seen the official number of cases in Northants almost double
There have been 1053 official cases of Covid-19 in Northampton.There have been 1053 official cases of Covid-19 in Northampton.
There have been 1053 official cases of Covid-19 in Northampton.

More than 3,000 Northamptonshire residents have caught coronavirus according to newly released figures from the Government, which now includes results from mobile testing units.

In just a day, the number of Northamptonshire Covid-19 cases almost doubled from 1,695 to 3,105 after the Government released wider testing data than that previously available from tests carried out in hospitals and of key workers.

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This means with a population of 747,000, less than one per cent of Northants people have officially contracted the potentially deadly contagion.

However as the testing has not been rigorous, with many symptomatic people not tested for the virus in the early months of the infection, the actual numbers of Northants people who have had coronavirus is most probably much higher.

To date 638 Northants people have died of Covid-19 in hospitals, at home and in care homes, which would mean a fifth of all Northants positive tests resulted in death, another indication that the testing levels are still not showing the true picture.

Ahead of the data being released last night Northamptonshire’s director of public health Lucy Wightman warned residents not to panic about the new data and said it reflected the fact that many more people with milder coronavirus symptoms have been able to access testing locally over the past two months.

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According to these new figures the county’s largest town Northampton has had a third of all cases, with 1,053 positive cases – which means 467 people in every 100,000 have been infected.

However Kettering is the place with the highest number of cases per 100,000 – as it has had 537 recorded cases, equal to 530.5 per 100,000 people.

Behind Northampton, Corby is the third worst place for the cases, with 301 positive tests and a rate of 420 per 100,000. Then it’s Wellingborough which has had 323 cases and a rate of 406.4 people testing positive per 100,000.

The more rural areas of East Northamptonshire, South Northants and Daventry have all fared better than the heavily urban areas with South Northants seeing the least number of cases in Northants at 265 – a rate of 285 per 100,000.

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Daventry’s rate was 265, or 313 people per 100,000 testing positive, and East Northants has had 362 cases which equals 385 cases per 100,000.

These figures are all significantly higher than what had been previously reported from pillar one data – those tested carried out in hospitals and for key workers.

In yesterday’s public statement Lucy Wightman, who became Northamptonshire Director of Public Health for in 2018, warned residents to still take social distancing and hygiene measures seriously.

She said: “However, I must emphasise that the virus has not gone away, and I continue to urge everyone to stay alert and act responsibly in helping us to control the virus and keep transmission rates low. As lockdown measures ease, it is essential that we act responsibly and minimise risks of increased transmission rates. It is easy to see from other areas how the number of cases can increase rapidly, with far reaching consequences.”

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