Coronavirus is a 'silent killer' says Northants director of public health, as cases rise dramatically

Coronavirus is a "silent killer" and people should behave as if everyone has it, says Northamptonshire's director of public health as cases rose dramatically in just a week.

In today's (Friday, October 9) press conference, director of public health Lucy Wightman revealed the county had recorded 417 new cases in the week between September 28 and October 4, more than double the previous week's figure of 148.

Lucy Wightman said: "There is a significant level of community transmission, particularly within households, and this is a significant concern. This is county wide.

"I implore people to recognise the severity of the figures of the last week."

The sudden spike in cases are not down to Public Health England's data upload error, and Lucy Wightman said she had been assured the dramatic rise was down to genuine cases confirmed in Northamptonshire.

The areas with the highest case numbers are Kettering, East Northamptonshire and Northampton.

Ms Wightman added: "We don't have a significant number of outbreaks and there aren't many cases associated with outbreaks."

Instead, the issue seems to be from community transmission and infection spreading in households.

She said: "We were seeing one or two cases per household but now we are seeing three or four in a single household."

The increasing rate of transmission in households means great emphasis was placed on the need for those with symptoms to self-isolate from their family or housemates within their property.

Ms Wightman said: "I recognise that is not an easy thing to do and it is challenging, but there are simple measures people can take like social distancing, wearing a mask and cleaning the most commonly used areas like kitchens and bathrooms."

The director of public health also said asymptomatic cases make stopping the spread of coronavirus particularly challenging.

She said: "This is one of the most challenging aspects about it, it's a silent virus and a silent killer.

"So many young people don't have symptoms and even some elderly and vulnerable people have it mildly and don't have symptoms.

"Without routine screening, we won't be able to identify everybody infected.

"We can take sensible steps to reduce the transmission. If you were to imagine that everyone out there was infected then people would behave differently, and you should behave as if everyone has it - you never know."

Northamptonshire Public Health will be producing advice on isolating away from household members shortly.

Residents are reminded that even if they experience mild symptoms they should isolate away from other household members, the whole household should self-isolate and the person or people with symptoms should book a test.

If the result is negative, they can continue with their life as normal. If the test is positive, the household needs to abide by self-isolation rules.

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