Rise in Covid-19 cases in Corby and Kettering linked to young people socialising

Young people spreading and catching the virus is fuelling the increase in positive cases in Kettering and Corby, says the county’s director of public health.

At a press conference this afternoon Lucy Wightman made it clear the county ‘is still not on top of’ the pandemic locally and that she had concerns about pupils returning to school en masse next week.

Latest figures show that positive tests in both towns have been on the increase in recent days with the 12 positive tests recorded in Corby on August 12 - the highest daily figure since April. The county is significantly above the national average in the rate of cases, with Northampton under stricter Government controls.

When asked if the rising cases in both towns was was fuelled by workplace outbreaks Lucy Wightman instead pointed to the summer holiday period and young people socialising more.

She said: “From a point of view of Kettering and Corby, one of the things we have talked about is that increase in the young age group. Kettering in particular, the recent increase is very much focused on younger age groups and in Corby we are seeing an increase in the under 20s. We are making sure we are linking up with appropriate schools and colleges and higher education establishments to ensure that people are aware of the messaging but that also as they go back into school that they are able to access the information they need to make sure they socialise in a safe way.

“We have already been engaging with employers, because I recognise not everybody under 20 is in school – we have been able to reinforce that there is a particular group of people who are of concern at the moment.

“We are making sure we tailor our messages accordingly as we do realise that young people will not necessarily engage with the same media platforms that older people will. So we are making sure we have social media approaches to communicating those messages.”

Asked what was fuelling the rise she said: “It is most likely to be the school holidays. Since term time ended parents have been more relaxed in their movements. People have been going out and socialising more.”

The news of the increasing numbers of under-20s catching the virus comes just days before schools are to return in full for the first time since lockdown on March 23.

Lucy Wightman said she was concerned about the return and said: “It is likely that we will see cases and that we will have some outbreaks.”

She said a school would not necessarily close if there was an outbreak and any closure would depend on the number or cases, but children within the bubble where a case had been detected and their families would have to isolate along national guidelines.

Secondary school age pupils in Northampton will have to wear face masks – because the borough is one of the Government’s areas of intervention – and the director of public health said she would encourage the practice in other secondary schools in other parts of the county.

She said there was no concentration of outbreaks at workplaces in Kettering and Corby at present.

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