Corby housing estate is Covid-19 hotspot

A Corby housing estate is the current hotspot area for coronavirus in the county.

According to the latest weekly data report that charts positive Covid-19 cases in Northants, the Kingswood and Hazel Leys area of Corby has had the most people infected with the virus, with 27 recorded cases in the 28 days until October 4.

The area, which is mostly residential and does not have any large places of work aside from the local primaries and secondary school, is one of the most deprived in the county, with two small areas around the streets of Saxilby Close and Kenilworth included in the top five area underprivileged areas in Northamptonshire for employment, health, income and crime.

County health bosses have said evidence shows the county’s most deprived and densely populated are disproportionately seeing more cases of the virus.

Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service what action is being taken on the Kingswood to tackle the recent spike, the public health team said: “Reducing transmission in Kingwood and across the county is our number one focus and we have adopted a multi-agency approach from the beginning.

“Public Health Northamptonshire has daily data focused outbreak meetings and works continuously with colleagues from environmental health, the police and the licensing authorities with intelligence led targeted community communications and engagement activity and enforcement when deemed necessary.

“We also have our local enhanced contact test and trace system in place which is ongoing.

“In Kingswood and across all wards in Northamptonshire we know that community household transmission is a large factor in the spread of Covid-19. This is especially so in homes where larger numbers of residents or members of extended families share accommodation and when different households meet and mix without abiding by the covid secure rules and restrictions.

“Public Health Northamptonshire, supported by Public Health England and overseen by Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, analyse the data across all wards in the county on an ongoing basis. If there are any trends or irregularities they are acted upon.

“Northamptonshire’s local test and trace service also monitors the situation at a granular level and again, any trends or irregularities are picked up and responded to in a rapid manner.”

Kingswood resident Ann Leonard, who has lived in Culross Walk for 35 years, was surprised to hear that Kingswood is the current hotspot area.

She said: “I do think local authorities have a responsibility to warn people when they are in an area which is having rising cases, although I’m not exactly sure how they would do that.

“I suppose a lot of people are using the track and trace app, so perhaps there could be a reverse process where people receive alerts.

“I am wondering whether the schools returning is fuelling the rise and also there are quite a few HMOs in the area. The chances are that the people who live in them are working with an agency or in a warehouse and it may be that their workplace policies are failing them.”

The Greenwood Academies Trust, which runs both the Kingswood Academy in Gainsborough Road and the Kingswood Primary Academy in Southbrook, said both schools have been covid-free since the academic year started again in September.

Corby Council’s leader Tom Beattie said: “It has been important for us to communicate with all residents, including but not limited to those within Kingswood. As soon as cases began to rise in Corby we leafleted all households within the borough with relevant guidance and have been working ever since to get this messaging out. Our environmental health team has been working hard with all commercial properties and HMOs and we have done numerous promotion of the government and local guidelines on our website, social media accounts, on radio, on local poster boards and other external advertising opportunities over the last few months.

“We continue to urge all residents to please stick to the guidelines and help us reduce the amount of Covid-19 cases within Corby. We want to ensure no further restrictions are put on our businesses and communities moving forward and therefore need to do all we can now to reduce our figures.”

Corby saw cases rise massively in August and was made an area of concern by the Government. However, it has now come off the list – largely due to the major rise of Covid in other parts of the north of England and Midlands.

The areas of the town that have been most affected by the virus include the Corby Old Village – which has had 114 cases up until October 4, followed by Oakley Vale which has 86. In total the Corby borough has had 663 recorded cases up until October 14.

County cases doubled last week. There have also sadly been two deaths at Kettering General Hospital in the space of a week, bringing the total of Covid-19 deaths in Northants since March to 683.

The county’s director of public health Lucy Wightman says she is still very concerned about the situation and has urged residents to continue with social distancing measures and hygiene precautions.

Public Health Northamptonshire’s advice to all Northamptonshire’s residents is:

Keep 2 metres from others at all times

Follow the “Rule of Six”

If you must meet those outside of your household or support bubble, meet in an outdoor space

Do not share items with others outside of your household or bubble

If social distancing at 2 metres is not possible, always use a face covering

Avoid using public transport or car sharing – wear face coverings if you must travel with others

Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly for 20 seconds each time

Work from home if you are able to