Wolverhampton in lockdown: Covid infections topping 100 each day
More than 100 people are testing positive for coronavirus in Wolverhampton every day, leaders have revealed, as a second national lockdown cleared the city's streets.
Shopping centres and areas in Wolverhampton were deserted today on the first day of the new Government lockdown in England.
And the leader of Wolverhampton Council has said there has been a "huge increase" in the number of people hospitalised and dying from Covid-19.
Councillor Ian Brookfield said: "Make no mistake, the situation is serious: over 100 Wulfrunians are testing positive for Covid-19 each and every day.
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"The true figure is likely to be even higher because, for some, coronavirus can be very mild so they might not realise they’ve caught it. For others, however, Covid-19 can be fatal – and tragically we’ve seen a big increase in the number of people hospitalised and even dying from this terrible virus.
“Despite the sacrifices we’ve all made to try and suppress Covid-19, we now find ourselves in a similar position to the one we were in back in March and April. If we don’t act now, more people will die and our NHS will be overwhelmed.
Important
“This lockdown is not as extensive as the first, for instance more businesses can remain open and students should continue to attend school, college and university at this time.
"But this means it is even more important that we do everything we can to stop the spread of Covid-19 by sticking to the rules, washing our hands more often, wearing a face covering where required and practising social distancing.
“We need to look after those who need our help the most so, over the next four weeks, let’s drive down the infection rate and protect our loved ones. We've done this before – I know that we can do it again and I know that, by uniting as a city, we can and will defeat this virus.”
John Denley, Wolverhampton’s director of public health, added: "The people of Wolverhampton have made huge sacrifices over the last few months and I thank every one of them for their efforts. Now we must go even further in the fight against Covid-19."
Superintendent Simon Inglis from Wolverhampton Police said: "Our ask is that you continue to comply with the restrictions in the way that you have so far. The response across the city has been tremendous with us only having to issues fines in a small number of cases. We don’t set out to issue fines, but in the interest of public safety we have been compelled to do so when faced with flagrant breaches of the rules."
Latest data shows there were 297.71 cases per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the seven days to 2 November. That means that 783 people in the city tested positive for the virus in the same seven-day period – though the real figure will be higher.
