Sharp increase in numbers of children testing positive for Covid

There has been a sharp rise in the number of four to nine year olds testing positive for coronavirus in West Berkshire.

“That age group hasn’t been vaccinated which is why we are likely seeing such high numbers,” Matt Pearce, service director for communities and wellbeing told West Berkshire’s Local Outbreak Engagement Board last night (Monday).

“We have potentially got two epidemics going on in West Berkshire. We have the five-nines rapidly increasing, and all the other ages coming down. Primary schools are where we are seeing a lot of cases at the moment.”

Overall, data shows the positive testing figures are coming down. But he warned that the potential effects of long Covid are not yet known.

“Even thought the figures are coming down we are still seeing substantial numbers of people being infected,” he said. “There have been 1,332 in the last seven days.

“Whilst we are seeing quite a high number of people in hospital they are quite mild cases and not so many being admitted to ICU.

“We have seen a number of deaths in the past few weeks and a total of 289 since the start of the pandemic.”