Covid cases now increasing across most of Winchester district

There are now only four out of 14 areas of the district with fewer than two cases in the seven days to Friday June 18. They are: Winchester West and East, Oliver's Battery and Hursley and Springvale and Itchen Abbas. They are still marked white on the Government map.

The worst-affected area is Stanmore with a rate per 100,000 of 73.7, followed by Alresford with 59.1 and Denmead and Southwick with 58.5.

Across Hampshire, infection rates have gone up in eleven areas and declined in three. The highest rate is in Southampton with an infection rate of 118.8 per 100,000.

In the Winchester district in the seven days to June 18 there have been 44 cases, an increase of 18 on the previous seven days, or 69 per cent, for a rolling number of 35.2.

But across the 315 local authority areas of the UK there are only 46 with a better figure than Winchester. The Delta, or Indian, variant is being blamed for the increase as it is more easily transmissable than previous strains.

The latest map of infection showing the Winchester distict, with only only four white areas

No deaths have been reported in the Winchester district for 112 days, since March 3. No deaths have been reported in the area covered by the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, that includes the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, for 60 days. The numbers of its patients who have died remains at 439.

Hampshire Hospitals is currently caring for four Covid patients.

Some 79.9 per cent of adults in the district have received their first dose of vaccine, slightly below the national average of 81.9 per cent. For second doses the district figure is 60.1 per cent just above the national average of 59.8 per cent.

The number of deaths from Covid in the Winchester has been reduced from 183 to 178. Public Health England re-examined the addresses of deceased people and made adjustments. Portsmouth has also been reduced from 371 to 365 but Southampton has risen from 320 to 326.

PHE says overall, nationwide, the number of deaths is unaffected by the adjustment.

From now on it will be the address noted at registration will take precedence.

No Winchester schools are affected and 41 schools have at least one case up from 14 a week ago. There are three cases linked to Winchester University, the highest numbers for several months but none of the people affected have been non campus in the period before their positive result, says the university website.