People in Cornwall have been asked to triple their efforts to help halt the rise of Covid-19 with the number of positive cases increasing like never before.

The latest figures show that between June 10 and June 15 there were 467 positive cases recorded. This included 106 on June 13 – more on a single day than there were for the whole of May.

Dr Ruth Goldstein, from Cornwall Council's public health department, said that the majority of cases recorded in Cornwall were the Delta variant and warned that because it is so transmittable the number of cases was expected to continue to rise.

She said that public health officials started to see a rise in cases around 10 days ago and said that it started to creep up among younger people aged 16 to 25.

"Initially it started around the Penryn campus (of the university) and it was easy to understand how that happened as this was the area in Cornwall where we have the highest density of young people.

"That combined with the half term break, where we have people from Cornwall going up country to see family and friends and we had visitors coming to Cornwall.

"All these things combined have led to this increase in positive cases."

Dr Goldstein explained that a large number of the positive cases were being linked with hospitality venues and said that venues were being responsible in testing staff and isolating them where necessary.

But she explained that the Delta variant meant that there needed to be a different approach to that which was taken in Cornwall last summer.

She said:

"The Delta variant is something like 60% more transmittable. Last summer we relied on face, space and hands. The variant we have now is more transmittable and those mitigations are just not enough.

"It is the young people who are catching Covid and they are the ones who are not yet vaccinated.

"What we are saying to people is face, space and hands and ventilation, don't give up on those whatever you do. But we also need to get everyone vaccinated.

"If you are over 40 and haven't yet been vaccinated, go and get vaccinated. If you have missed your first one, that is fine just make an appointment.

"We are hoping that in the next few days vaccinations will be open to those aged 18 – we are really trying to work with businesses, the university and sixth form colleges as we want to get a huge update of 18-plus vaccines as quickly as possible.

"The rates among 18 to 30-year-olds are hugely more than any other part of our population and if we can get those people vaccinated it should help to bring the numbers down."

Dr Goldstein said that the council was also working with hospitality businesses to ensure that their staff all get vaccinated as well.

The council is also encouraging everyone to get tested for Covid-19 twice a week using lateral flow tests which are available for free.

Dr Golstein said that increased testing would help to find early outbreaks and ensure that those affected can self-isolate and prevent further transmission.

"The more people we can get tested so we know who has a viral load, the quicker we can get those people isolated.

"The message of face, space, hands and ventilation is important and we have to have all that in place to get through this summer. We know we will have a lot of people coming into Cornwall, which we want and is fantastic for our businesses.

"But this situation we are in now we all have to triple our efforts if we are going to stop this rise in cases."

Dr Goldstein said that the council was also continuing to work with hospitality businesses to ensure that they are following guidelines.

There have been reports of some businesses where staff have been seen not wearing masks or social distancing.

A dedicated safety team at the council has been making informal visits to businesses and helping them with risk assessments and giving advice where required.

Dr Goldstein said that some businesses had been reporting that some customers were refusing to follow guidelines.

She said: "We have been doing this now for 18 months and people are really bored of it, but businesses are saying that getting patrons to use the QR codes is really hard work, but the QR system is really great and really works. We would encourage everyone to follow the guidelines."

So, the key question is, will cases continue to rise?

Dr Goldstein said: "It will take a couple of weeks to see the impact of our communications and vaccines in young people but I am hoping that the rise will slow down as people get tested and vaccinated.

"However I fear we will see more cases in the short term, that isn't necessarily a bad thing as the more cases we know about the more we can focus on those areas affected."

However Dr Goldstein was keen to point out that while cases in Cornwall are rising and we are now close to the national average we are still much lower than hot spot areas in the north west.

"Compared to places like Bolton where they have had huge numbers, our numbers are lower even though we are moving towards the England average.

"We have not seen this before in Cornwall and one of the reasons we could be having more cases is our number of restaurants and bars per head of population compared to other parts of the country is much higher. We have lots more places where people can eat and drink and where this virus could be transmitted.

"It is not a situation that Cornwall has found itself in in the last 18 months. It is new, it's not great and we absolutely need everyone to do everything that they can and not just what they did last summer."

Dr Goldstein said that while reported cases are increasing she said it was too early to say whether that would result in more hospital admissions.

She said: "Hospital cases have a lag of two weeks so it is too early to see if this rise will put pressure on our hospitals.

"However with the vast majority of cases being in younger people, they are much less likely to be hospitalised than the older population. Those catching it now are younger people who are generally healthier and fitter and less likely to end up in hospital.

"People are feeling quite poorly with it now though and they are describing it as a heavy dose of flu. It is not just asymptomatic, it is causing people to feel unwell.

"It will result in hospitalisations, I am sure, but we will not know how many until later."

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