Derby Director of Public Health warns of rising cases in the city

Published: 18 January 2021

Dr Robyn Dewis, Derby City Council’s Director of Public Health, has appealed for citizens to be vigilant against COVID, as cases continue to rise across Derby.

Derby’s COVID cases are rising rapidly in all areas of the city, despite the lockdown restrictions being in place.

Dr Dewis highlighted how important it is that we all recognise the impact of our individual actions on the spread of coronavirus:

Every single citizen of Derby has the power to help in the fightback against COVID by following the national restrictions in place.

We are in a unique period whereby our usually ‘normal’ actions could cause ourselves or others a potentially severe illness.

One in three people who have the virus show no symptoms, so it is also very possible to transmit it to others without knowing. In every chain of social contact there could be a vulnerable person.

Until this is over, the best, and the only way to keep ourselves and our loved ones safer is to stay at home apart from for essential reasons.

Dr Dewis also emphasised how we cannot stray from regulations now because of the roll-out of vaccines:

While the news of our national vaccine programme is fantastic, this alone will not prevent our city from suffering greatly due to rapidly rising transmission. Reducing case numbers relies on a number of elements and efforts to work properly.

Without adherence to the lockdown rules, we are likely to be under severe restrictions for a much longer time, while putting ourselves and loved ones at greater risk.

Between 3 – 9 January there were a total of 1,706 new cases of COVID-19 in Derby.

Derby’s COVID cases are displayed on the Council website for the previous week, including a breakdown of data by area. There is also information on how to interpret the data within the report.

Last week, Dr Dewis and Dean Wallace, Director of Public Health for Derbyshire County Council, issued a plea for people to follow the rules in order to bring case numbers down across the county.

In response to the rising transmission, the Council’s Environmental Health and Trading Standards teams have been working closely with Derbyshire Police to ensure businesses and individuals are complying with COVID regulations.

The team set out to visit a number of specific businesses, from small independent shops to large supermarkets, in a variety of locations including the city centre, Littleover, Mackworth. Normanton and Rosehill.

The team visited around 20 premises and were delighted to find a marked improvement in compliance rate for mask wearing and issued just one Fixed Penalty Notice issued for a lack of face covering indoors.

There is a range of support available for everyone in Derby who is struggling as a result of the pandemic. You can find out more about our Community Hub and self-isolation and business support grants on the Council website.

Health