Covid persisting in four Winchester areas as hospital patient numbers drop sharply

The numbers are very low but cases are increasing in the following four areas, even as hospital patient numbers drop sharply, according the numbers released today:

Springvale and Itchen Abbas, six cases, up one (20 per cent), for rolling average of 87.3 per 100,000, above the national average, and down from 101.8. The area stretches from Kings Worthy to Itchen Stoke and Chilcomb to Northington near Old Alresford;

Alresford, four cases, up two (100 per cent) for rolling average of 47.3, down from yesterday's 59.1;

Denmead and Southwick, eight cases, up two (33 per cent) 78.0, no change, now also above the national average;

Winchester North and Sparsholt, four cases, up one (33 per cent), 41.2, down from 51.5.

Five new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the Winchester district today, the highest daily number for ten days.

Ten areas of the Winchester district remain almost Covid-free, according to figures released today. The areas, where there have been fewer than three cases in the last seven days to Thursday March 4, are:

Winchester West (Weeke and Fulflood);

Winchester East (Winnall, Highcliffe and Bar End);

Winchester Central and South;

Stanmore;

Oliver’s Battery and Hursley;

South Wonston, Sutton Scotney and Micheldever;

Swanmore, Hambledon and West Meon;

Bishop's Waltham and Waltham Chase;

Whiteley, Knowle and Wickham;

Colden Common and Twyford.

These areas are now marked white on the Government Covid map.

Winchester numbers

In the Winchester district as a whole official figures in the week to Thursday March 4 reports there were 29 cases, down 13, or 31 per cent, for a rolling rate per 100,000 people of just 23.2. The Press Association national news agency reported that the figures to Thursday March 4 show only 22 places out of 315 in the UK with a better record than Winchester, mostly in the West Country.

The district covers more than just the city but includes countryside from Micheldever to Denmead.

In the last seven days to today (Tuesday) there have only been 26 new cases in the Winchester district, down from the previous week’s 38.

The number of Winchester district cases since the start of the pandemic is now 4,763 for a rate per 100,000 people of 3,814. No new deaths have been reported keeping the number at 183, a rate of 146.6 per 100,000 people. In the last seven days there has been only one death.

The Covid burden at the Hampshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has continued to ease. Yesterday there were only 30 across the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; 20 in Basingstoke and ten in the RHCH. The previous Monday there were 52 patients – 33 at Basingstoke, 19 at RHCH .

Across the NHS trusts in Hampshire (Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth, Southern and Solent) three Covid patients have died, one each in Portsmouth, Southampton and HHFT, taking the overall figure to 1,849. The numbers of Covid patients who have died in the HHFT hospitals is 435. There is no breakdown on where the deaths occurred.

Meanwhile, there are only 11 schools in Hampshire affected by Covid, with none in the Winchester district.

There are no new cases at Winchester University and 198 since last September,according to its website.

Hampshire numbers released today