Agenda item

The committee has a standing item on Covid-19. A presentation will be provided with the focus for this meeting being:

·       Comparison between waves one and two and differences in what is happening.

·       Improving the track and trace arrangements by the end of the second lockdown period.

·       The Covid-19 mobile telephone application, QR code and levels of take up being lower than expected.

The Committee received a presentation from Dr Shade Agboola, Director of Public Health. The presentation included slides showing:

·       An outline of the focus on for the session:

o   Comparison between waves one and two and differences in what is happening.

o   An update on test and trace arrangements

o   Uptake of the Covid-19 mobile telephone application

·       Wave One vs Wave two

o   Chances of survival are better

o   The age composition is different

o   Hospital admissions and excess death rates, so far, are lower than the rates during the first wave of the pamdemic

·       A breakdown by district and borough area of Covid-19 cases in each wave

·       Data by age groupings showing the number and percentage of cases in each wave and a ‘heat map’ showing recent case rates by age group

·       Test and trace data with details of the testing services being used

·       Case rates and positivity of tests for each district and borough area

·       Contact tracing activity – including the establishment of a local team and the need to build capacity

·       Asymptomatic testing

o   Seen as key to stopping the spread of Covid-19

o   Contact tracing starts more quickly, as results are ready within 30 minutes

o   Comment about the sensitivity of the LFT and potentially the need for follow up tests

o   Planning underway to deploy this

·       Data for the mobile telephone application:

o   Downloaded by 40% of eligible adults with smart phones, a total of 19.62 million times. Estimated that this equates to 190,000 downloads in Warwickshire

o   56% of the general population, or 80% of current smartphone owners, would need to use a contact-tracing application for it to be effective in helping stop the coronavirus.

o   Over 160,000 businesses have downloaded unique QR codes

·       A summary of current priorities

o   Incident management teams and support

o   Targeted messaging to the over 60s

o   Workplace outbreak prevention

o   LFTs/mass testing roll-out, partnerships, resourcing, risks

o   Exiting lockdown

Questions and comments were submitted, with responses provided as indicated:

• For people living close to the county boundaries, the nearest testing services were in neighbouring areas. A question on the consistency of approach being used.
• Whether the relaxation of the restrictions over the Christmas holiday was sensible, given the potential for another increase in case numbers. Whilst people had messaging fatigue, they needed to ‘do the right thing’ and follow guidance to reduce spread of the virus.
• Some members commented that people would celebrate Christmas with their families and there was a need for clear guidance to minimise the risk of transmission and a third lockdown. It was agreed that communications were needed to reassure people, but also encourage them to celebrate safely.
• A member commented on whether the wider impacts and costs of responding to Covid, now outweighed the disease itself.
• Feedback from people receiving multiple calls as part of the tracing process and considering this to be excessive. This point had been raised repeatedly with the national test and trace service.
• With students coming home for Christmas, a suggestion that they be tested beforehand. Universities had been approached directly about use of the LFT. Warwick University had requested 20,000 test kits and it was understood that most universities were doing likewise.
• Reference to the different age ranges used for some of the slides. The ‘heatmap’ had been sourced from Public Health England, with other data produced locally.
• Discussion about transmission in schools and sixth forms. Shade Agboola advised that schools were a priority area for the LFT and there would be a targeted process which would extend to school sixth forms. Bespoke work for sixth form students would be considered.
• The exit arrangements from the current lockdown. Guidance was not expected to be received from the government until the end of November, but it was understood that a range of metrics would be used to determine the tiers that each area would go into. 
• The report was praised and contained lots of detail. This would be shared with all members and officers at NBBC and it was suggested that others share the information too.

The Chair thanked Shade Agboola for the report and asked that thanks be passed to all Public Health staff for their considerable efforts.

Resolved

That the Committee notes the presentation from the Director of Public Health.