Somerset's Worrying Covid-19 Trends: We Challenge The Authorities Again

 

Standing Up For Somerset Residents

During the entire Global Pandemic of Covid-19, Somerset Independents has challenged councils, councillors, MPs and national Government.

Unlike the national political parties and their elected representatives, we actually have stood up for residents.

It is in our Constitution that as residents ourselves, that our officers and supporters work together with other residents, to stand together.

Residents are extremely concerned at the Covid-19 infection trends in Somerset and the West of England.

So our officers Andrew Pope and Denise Wyatt wrote again to the Director of Public Health for Somerset, Trudi Grant.

We said:

"Further to our earlier correspondence with you and your staff, for which we thank you again, we are writing to express our great concern at the Covid-19 data for Somerset, especially for the Mendip District Council area.

For much of the Pandemic, Mendip and the other council areas for which you are responsible, have been in the lower part of the infection rates for our region.

However, Mendip is now the worst area, as presented by the BBC two days ago on BBC Points West and shown in the official figures as documented by the BBC here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274"

The questions followed in our letter. 

You can see the full questions and Ms Grant's responses to our questions, below.

Tell us what you think of the questions and the answers.

 

"Dear Mr Pope and Ms Wyatt

 

Thank you for your email.  To follow up your queries, please find responses below;

 

Q1. Please can you provide an explanation for this, with the evidence that you have to support your explanation?

 

Case rates in Mendip as you reference have been higher, but for the last 7 days reporting 1-7^th October, rates are beginning to decline now 466.3/100,000. This is still higher than regional average. I believe in part this is probably caused by lower population immunity levels, acquired through natural immunity due to previously low levels within this district.  School age children and staff linked to education settings made up 68% of Mendip’s cases (30/9-6/10/21)

 

Q2. Please can you tell us why it is deemed, as reported on BBC Points West, that schools are deemed the source of infection, and the cause of the high infection rates? The BBC report seemed to suggest that schools were at fault. Why is this thought please? 

 

Schools are in no way at fault, but the school environment is one of the main sources of transmission currently, 68% of cases in Mendip the last week were linked to school children or staff.  Our local schools have been brilliant and SCC Public Health are working very hard with them to help put control measures in place within each school,  as per the DfE Contingency Framework. 

 

Q3. Please can you tell us what influence, if any, the mass gatherings at the Bath and West Showground have had, and what evidence there is that these are influential, or no influential on infections?  

 

Based on the information gathered through the National Test and Trace system, we have no evidence that the Bath & West Showground is featuring in the common places visited by cases prior to their disease onset.

 

Q4. What data on infections, and what actions to control infections, are Bath and West REQUIRED to carry out and what involvement do you have as DPH? 

 

SCC has funded a Covid event officer post for Somerset, hosted by Mendip DC, to work with event organisers and ensure events go ahead as Covid19 secure as possible and relevant to their setting.  This officer engages early with event organisers to review their event management plans with specific reference to controlling the risk of transmission of Covid-19.  For larger events, members of my team also attend pre-event planning meetings to ensure the public health advice is part of the consideration.  To note, that it is the event organiser, rather than the Bath and West Showground itself, which devises and implements the plan. 

 

Q5. Would you agree therefore, that the cancellation of the Pilton "Equinox" Festival had a positive effect on reducing infection in the Mendip area, and Somerset more widely?  

 

We cannot say for sure that by cancelling these events, there was a positive effect on reducing infection as it’s always hard to count what has been prevented. However, the more people we mix with, the more chance the virus has to spread. Under the new national CONTAIN framework, it is for individuals to make these choices. As DPH we make information materials available to help people make informed choices. We are about to launch a public health campaign to help inform people decisions. If you follow my twitter account, it would be great if you could help spread the reach of the campaign by retweeting these messages to your members.

 

Event organisers have worked very productively with us throughout the pandemic and have listened to public health advice.

 

Q6. And similarly to Q4, the same for the Nass Festival? 

 

Please see the above reply regarding the Equinox Festival.  The same answer applies to the NASS Festival.

 

Q7. Somerset Independents campaigned against both Nass and Equinox from going ahead, because of the threat to Somerset residents' health, and we were very disappointed that Mendip Council officers treated both events as if they were not a danger. Why did you as Director of Public Health, allow them to do so? 

 

Nationally the decision has been taken to allow events of all forms and sizes to go ahead.  Obviously, as previously stated, where there are gatherings of people there is always an increased risk of infection, but we can mitigate risks as much as possible.  As you know, this whole pandemic has been a balance of risk, in the case of events, balancing the risk of infection with the risk to the events industry.  We need to learn to live with this virus, and part of that has to be opening up events.   As mentioned above, Mendip District Council hosts the event officer and works proactively alongside SCC Public Health, and with event organisers, to support events going ahead with appropriate covid19 mitigations in place in accordance with the legal framework.

 

Q8. If you do not have the data to answer the above questions with credibility, please can you tell us why you do not have the data, and what you are doing about it?  

 

We do have all the available data.

 

Thank you for your ongoing support, it is greatly appreciated.

 

With best wishes

 

Trudi

 

 

Professor Trudi Grant,  MSc, UKPHR, FFPH

Director of Public Health

Somerset County Council

 

Visiting Professor, Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing, UWE Bristol"