Doncaster Covid infection rates rise as town's number of hospital patients drops

Coronavirus infection rates have risen in Doncaster – while the number of hospital patients has dropped, health chiefs have said.
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Dr Rupert Suckling the town’s Director of Public Health, has put the rise down to increasing cases amog school children.

He said: “Our latest data across all age groups shows our current infection rate is 133.4 per 100,000 for the week between 19-25 March.

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“Over the past week, we have continued to see slight increases in the number of cases in Doncaster, a closer look at the data does show the main reason for this is the continued increase in cases of school age children. Although a rise in cases in this group is to be expected following the return to school, the concerning element is it seems that a lot of the cases are due to transmission away from the classroom.

The number of coronavirus patients in Doncaster's hospitals is continuing to drop.The number of coronavirus patients in Doncaster's hospitals is continuing to drop.
The number of coronavirus patients in Doncaster's hospitals is continuing to drop.

"For example, we have been managing an outbreak of school age children that has been traced back to a birthday party.

“Although it is really important for children's mental health that they are able to see friends socially outside of school, it is vital that you stick to the rules when doing so – which currently are rule of six / two households meeting outdoors and strictly no indoor mixing. Also please remember to keep doing the basics, like washing your hands regularly and keeping your distance where possible, and this will really help to keep our infection rate down.

Meanwhile, the number of people receiving treatment in hospital for Covid-19 has decreased again.

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A spokesman for Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust said: “At the time of writing, we have 19 patients with us who have tested positive. This is a decrease since last week, showing the good progress we have made as a community - progress we aim to keep.

“Broken down by hospital, this means we have 15 such patients at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, four at Bassetlaw and, with enormous pleasure, zero at Montagu. The age range of these individuals is between 18 and 91.

“It is clear that the sacrifices local people have made throughout the past few months have made a huge difference, and for that, as a Trust, we share our deep thanks and gratitude.