Coronavirus: ‘No obvious source’ of Leicester Covid-19 outbreak

There is no obvious source for a recent increase in coronavirus cases in Leicester, according to a report.

Public Health England (PHE) found no “explanatory outbreaks in nursing homes, hospital settings, or industrial processes.”

Their case analysis showed that more “young and middle-aged people” in the city had tested positive for Covid-19 than in other parts of the Midlands.

But he found that the spread did not appear to be “unrestricted.”

The report was released the night before the city’s schools were due to almost everyone except a handful of children as part of the local shutdown measures.

Admissions ‘decreased rapidly’

The preliminary investigation said the increase in reported cases may be due in part to “growth in the availability of evidence” in Leicester.

It confirmed a concentration of new cases in the North Evington neighborhood of the city.

The report said hospitals in Leicester were currently treating 80 patients with Covid-19, 10 of whom needed ventilation.

The number of patients “declined rapidly” from an increase in early April, but new admissions “held steady” at six to 10 per day during June.

On Monday, when he announced the local city shutdown, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he had “10% of all positive cases” in the previous week.

The report said the increase in positive cases was “more marked” among the under-19 group.

While there had been “a good provision of access to primary school for children” since early June, the researchers said they could find no “analytical link” between this and “any real or apparent increase in new infections.”

However, they said it “would seem sensible to investigate” to exclude a link between this and an increase in youth testing positive for Covid-19.

Five schools in the city closed as a result of positive coronavirus tests, he added.

Starting Thursday, all schools in the closure area will be closed to all but the children of key workers and students deemed vulnerable or with educational or health needs.

The rapid response investigation found that 3,216 cases of Covid-19 had been confirmed in the city since the start of the epidemic in March, and most of the positive cases were found through Pillar 1 tests, performed in hospitals. .

But since May, most Leicester infections were discovered in Pillar 2 tests conducted outside the hospital.

Between June 11 and 24, 944 were reported, 71 were in the hospital, 873 in the community.

The report says the increase in positive tests for Pillar 2 “is probably related, in part, to the availability of tests to the general public.”

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