Covid-19 update
Councillor Phil Bateman said today “our latest briefing note today from the Authority reminded us that these are things we should be noting, and the regulations we should be following.”
We are reminding people of the need to wear face coverings when they are in shops or on public transport after the Government introduced new rules to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. They should also be worn in communal areas of universities, colleges and schools by staff, visitors and students in Year 7 and above, unless people are exempt for medical reasons.
People returning to Wolverhampton from abroad must take a PCR test when they get back, and anyone who is a contact of someone who may have been infected with the Omicron variant must self-isolate, regardless of their age or vaccination status.
The national strategy is to slow down and delay the transmission of the new variant to ensure as many people can get vaccinated as possible and take up their booster offer. Currently, those eligible for a vaccine include adults aged over 40, health and social care workers and people aged 16 and over with certain health conditions, though, following JCVI guidance, boosters will be offered to every adult over 18 in the coming weeks. The time between second doses and booster doses has also been reduced from six months to three months.
The latest figures show there were 299.9 new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the last seven days. That means 789 people tested positive for the virus in that same period – though the true number of cases will likely be higher.
Some 178,055 first doses and 161,494 second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have now been administered in Wolverhampton, while the new pop-up vaccination clinic in the Mander Centre has seen good footfall since opening last Friday
