Agenda item

(To receive a report from the Director of Public Health which updates the Executive on the current situation with regard to Covid-19 in Lincolnshire)

The Director of Public Health provided an update to the Executive in relation to the current situation with Covid-19 in Lincolnshire as of that morning.  Key points included, that the rate of infection in England was just under 29 cases per 100,000 of population, in comparison to Lincolnshire's rate of 19.4 cases per 100,000 of population, which was below the England rate.

In the seven days to 30 May 2021, there were 130 new cases of Covid-19 reported across the entire county, which was a relatively small number, and the majority of these cases were in younger, working age adults.  A small increase across secondary school age children had been seen after 17 May 2021.  However, the half term holiday was providing a break in transmission and so rates were coming back down.

It was highlighted that the previous day (1 June 2021) was the first day that the UK had not reported any deaths from Covid-19 since 2020.  It was also noted that Lincolnshire had not recorded any Covid-19 deaths in the preceding seven days.  There was a suggestion that the link between infection and hospital admissions had been broken.

In relation to hospital admissions, there were currently two people in ULH hospitals with Covid-19, however, neither patient was in intensive care or required a ventilator.

An update was also provided on the prevalence of the Indian, or Delta, variant in Lincolnshire.  It was reported that in the last two weeks of May, approximately 300 cases of Covid-19 were reported in Lincolnshire, of these approximately 100 were sent for sequencing, and of that number, about 1 in 5 were found to be the new variant.  It was acknowledged that Lincolnshire was behind the curve, but it was expected that the Delta variant would become the dominant in Lincolnshire, but this could be within a couple of weeks, a month or a little longer.  However, the key question was whether it would drive increased hospital admissions.  The messages remained the same in relation to "Hands, Face, Space" and also people were encouraged to take up the vaccination when they were called.

In response to the update, a question was raised in relation to whether people were presenting with more serious symptoms of Covid-19, and what was the evidence in relation to the effectiveness of the vaccine against the delta variant.  The Executive was advised that there was some early evidence that the Delta variant was not quite as affected by the one dose and would provide 30 – 40% after one dose, in comparison the vaccines gave about 60% immunity against the Kent (Alpha) variant after one dose.  However, after both doses, the levels of immunity against the variants was broadly similar.  It was also highlighted that the majority of admissions to hospital were those that had not received either dose of a vaccine.  There was only a very small number of people in hospital with this variant who had received both doses.

At the time of the meeting, around 75% of the adult population of Lincolnshire had received one dose, and almost 50% had received both doses.

In terms of the timescales around the final easing of restrictions on 21 June 2021, there was an expectation that the data would be clear enough by the end of the week, and there would be a clear view from government by the end of the following week on whether the UK should progress to Step 4 of the Roadmap.