Across the Dorset Council area this week, there’s been a jump in the number of reported coronavirus cases to 37 cases, compared to nine in the previous week, and in Swanage, five people have been confirmed as testing positive for COVID-19.
This rise is in line with the national picture, where there has been a definite upturn in the number of cases in September 2020, compared to the previous months of July and August.
Number of confirmed new positive cases of COVID-19 in the Dorset Council area
2nd to 9th September – 37 cases
26th August to 1st September – 9 cases
19th to 25th August -12 cases
12th to18th August – 6 cases
Number of confirmed new positive cases of COVID-19 in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council area
2nd to 9th September – 57 cases
26th August to 1st September – 28 cases
19th to 25th August – 9 cases
12th to18th August – 17 cases
Five cases of coronavirus in Swanage
On the UK Government’s website, it shows that five cases of coronavirus in Swanage were reported from 31st August to 6th September 2020. On the 4th September 2020, Swanage Town and Herston Football Club confirmed that one of their players had tested positive. According to Public Health Dorset, a second connected person was symptomatic.
Case rates per 100,000 of the population
However, the number of cases per 100,000 of the population in the Dorset Council area still remains below that of England and of the South West. The number of cases per 100,000 of the population in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council area also remains below that of England, but is higher than the average rate across the South West.
29th August to 4th September 2020
Dorset Council – 8.0
BCP Council – 12.9
South West – 10.4
England – 21.9
“We are now seeing perhaps six or seven cases a day”
Director of Public Health Dorset, Sam Crowe said:
“This week, we have definitely seen more cases of coronavirus. We were really lucky through July and August when we probably saw two to three cases a day across each council. We are now seeing perhaps six or seven cases a day in each council, so a definite upturn in cases. Most of those cases we know are linked with travel.”
“As schools go back this week, it’s a really good reminder that we do have to go back to basics. Remember those core public health messages of watching your distance, washing your hands, if you’re in an enclosed space where you can’t maintain a two metre social distance, wear a mask. That’s not just because we need to break the transmission of the virus but also some of the consequences of the Test and Trace system.”
Closure of St Mark’s CE Primary school
In a thinly veiled reference to the closure of St Mark’s CE Primary school in Swanage, that has had to shut for two weeks after it was confirmed on Tuesday 8th September 2020, that a member of staff had tested positive for coronavirus, Sam Crowe warned:
“If you have a positive case in a workplace setting like a school and if you’ve been a little more relaxed about your social distancing, you may get caught up in the requirement for close contact, to self-isolate. And if that happens in a small school, that can be the difference between continuing to stay open or having to close, just because of the number of staff that would be asked to self-isolate.”
Watch Sam Crowe, Director of Public Health Dorset, explain the latest about coronavirus in Dorset
Further information
- UK Government website – Coronavirus cases by local area in England
- Latest Public Health Dorset coronavirus data
