Number of Covid-19 cases in the South Hams leaps up again

Covid-19 cases in the South Hams are continuing to rise - fast.

Between 11-17 July there were 272 laboratory confirmed cases in the South Hams. This is up from 114 two weeks before (an increase of 139 percent) and up from 29 cases at the end of last month. This means that cases have increased by 838 percent in less than a month - small numbers can make percentages seem slightly off, but there are still eight times more cases than there were at the end of June. 

Across Devon it is the same story, with cases per 100,000 sitting at 319.2 in Devon, Plymouth 683.3; England 425.9 and the South Hams 312.6.

For the first time in a while, there were five Covid-related deaths in the South West, three in Cornwall and two in Torbay. There were 205 across the country. As of 17 July, there were 43 Covid-related patients in Devon's Hospitals. 

Vaccination numbers are still climbing, if you haven’t booked yours yet, visit the NHS website: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/

While getting your vaccination cannot guarantee you don’t catch Covid, it makes it much less likely. You’re also much less likely to get seriously ill if you do catch it, and much less likely to spread the virus to others. 

If you’re worried about vaccine safety or effectiveness, read this article from Totnes resident and renowned science-communicator Dr Emily Grossman: www.totnespulse.co.uk/covid-19-have-you-got-questions/

Stay safe. 

You can find out more about the Covid-19 numbers of the interactive map on the Gov.uk website: coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map