330 further coronavirus cases in Wealden

The number of coronavirus cases in Wealden increased by 330 over the weekend which followed the end of free testing in England, official figures show. The withdrawal of free tests for most people in the country on April 1 means the figures are not an accurate reflection of the number of people with Covid. A total of 44,677 cases had been confirmed in Wealden when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on April 4 (Monday), up from 44,347 on Friday. The cumulative rate of infection in Wealden, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 27,454 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 31,806. In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, if one person tests positive for the virus more than 90 days after the first infection, two infection episodes will be recorded, according to the UK Health Security Agency. Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 142,807 over the last 24 hours, to 21,359,681. England’s change in testing requirements means the reported number of coronavirus cases in the UK is also likely to be an underestimate. There were no new coronavirus deaths recorded over the weekend in Wealden. The dashboard shows 426 people had died in the area by April 4 (Monday) – which was unchanged from Friday. It means there have been no deaths in the past week, which is a decrease on three the previous week. They were among 21,199 deaths recorded across the South East. The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in Wealden. Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death, so some areas might see their figures revised down. Figures reported on a Monday are likely to be lower as a result of a lag in reporting deaths over the weekend. The figures also show that nearly three-quarters of people in Wealden have received a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. The latest figures show 106,055 people had received a booster or third dose by April 3 (Sunday) – 72% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database. A total of 125,443 people (85%) had received two jabs by that date. Across England, 67% of people aged 12 and above had received a booster. Unlike at local level, the national rate was calculated using mid-2020 population estimates from the Office for National Statistics.