Why it's time that the country started taking Covid seriously again - Jayne Dowle

Bear with the deluge of official figures; they make for sobering reading.

If, like me, you were beginning to wonder if you were imagining the number of people you know who are isolating or off work because they have tested positive, you’re not.

Only last week, my parents told me that their next-door neighbours, both in their 70s, were ill with Covid for the very first time.

I’ve heard of several remote colleagues holed up ‘WFMing’ again because they are positive too. This is in addition to those who have contracted Covid for the second, third or even fourth time, and are still suffering from the debilitating effects of ‘long Covid’ contracted almost two years ago at the very start of the pandemic.

In my own hometown, Barnsley, the week commencing October 4, the number of in-patients with Covid has almost doubled in a month, from 16 to 29.

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals has seen more than a tripling of cases, from 53 admissions with Covid to 178, making it the highest in Yorkshire.

Leeds is second with 148, up from 50. The Mid Yorkshire Trust is next on the list, with 146 people in hospital, up from 40 people a month ago. Doncaster and Bassetlaw is close behind, going from 26 to 109.

What’s even more worrying is that amid this latest wave of infections, across England and Wales, deaths due to Covid have begun to rise again too.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says that 400 deaths registered in the week ending October 7 had mentioned coronavirus on the death certificate. This represents a 39 per cent rise from 287 deaths the week before, the highest weekly total since late August.

I’m not wishing to spread fear and panic. Although hospitals have observed a rise in the number of patients with Covid requiring treatment, thankfully, deaths remain far below levels experienced in 2020 and last year.

The latest mortality figures are also only half those reported at the height of the summer wave this year, when 810 deaths from Covid were registered in the week to July 29.

The bottom line? One in 50 of us are now estimated to be suffering from Covid, according to the ONS, so that’s around 1.1m people. And this, as we approach a winter when millions of households are having to make the decision over heating or eating, is not a comforting piece of information.

Has there been a word from the new Secretary of State for Health on this worrying state of affairs? As far as I know, there has not.

I do understand that she has been extremely busy propping up her ‘bestie’, beleaguered Prime Minister, Liz Truss, but am I right in thinking that something should be said?

To be fair, there’s been no important televised announcement from any other public health official either, but in January last year, when we also had one in 50 people testing positive, Dr Yvonne Doyle, the medical director for Public Health England, issued a dire warning: “The rapid rise in cases is highly concerning and will sadly mean yet more pressure on our health services in the depths of winter.

“That is why if we can, we must stay at home, reduce contact and do everything possible to break the spread of this virus.

“It is by no means easy, but now more than ever we must all do our part to protect the NHS and save lives.”

As a population, we need to know that the politicians in charge of public health are doing what we, as voters, taxpayers and concerned citizens, expect.

I am the very last person to wish for a return to those draconian lockdown days, but I do think that we need some leadership. And if not reassurance, then clear information.

As an over-50, I’m eligible for a booster jab this autumn. I’ve been politely waiting for the invitation to go along and get mine. Nothing has been forthcoming, so I’ve gone online and booked my own, not least because I’m hoping to travel to Spain later this month and adults must be fully-vaccinated to gain entry.

I’d blithely forgotten all about Grant Shapps and his byzantine ‘travel restrictions’ to be honest, until I looked up the FCO advice and realised that I also needed to update my digital Covid pass in the new NHS app.

It was a stark reminder that the virus still stalks amongst us, affecting our decisions and our lives. But planning a holiday is one thing, being admitted to hospital and placed on a ventilator is quite another.