Covid-19: Optimism raised over Newcastle's falling rates

The city's Centre for Life is being used as a vaccination centre

Newcastle's falling Covid rates show a "clear case for some optimism", the city's director of public health said.

Prof Eugene Milne said the rate was "better" than he had feared, more than a fortnight after restrictions eased.

Figures show infections are 341 per 100,000, albeit still above the England average of 280.

However, Newcastle Hospitals' chief executive said the Royal Victoria Infirmary's (RVI) emergency department had "experienced a pressured 24 hours".

Newcastle City Council said 98 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on 31 July, the lowest daily total since 13 June, although there had been a fall in the number of people taking tests.

Prof Milne said social distancing and the use of face coverings continued "to be crucial" in preventing further spikes of infection, along with "highly effective" vaccines.

"Newcastle's case numbers have fallen steadily over the last two weeks and, encouragingly, are falling across all ages," he said.

"Taken together with levelling of hospital demand from Covid this looks like a real downward trend and not just a consequence of the schools testing regime having finished or students returning to their parents' homes for the summer.

"We are still not at the end of this but we are in a much better position at this stage than I had feared."

The chief executive of the trust which runs the RVI said its emergency department was enduring "relentless" demand

Public health officials and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have previously urged caution over falling case rates and warned that the impact of lockdown restrictions which ended on 19 July had not yet been seen, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Earlier on Tuesday Dame Jackie Daniel, chief executive of Newcastle Hospitals - which runs the Freeman and RVI - tweeted that the RVI's emergency department team was "facing relentless demand".

"Our emergency department & assessment suite have experienced a pressured 24 hours after weeks of unprecedented patient numbers," she said.

"Having visited the team this morning and spoken in detail to a range of staff, I'm struck by how many are hoping this isn't the 'new normal'. As a system we need to respond together to maintain our high standards and to support our teams."

On 23 July, the government announced a five-week support package for the entire North East of England in a bid to "slow the growth" of the Delta variant.