Covid-19 Reaches Record Levels in Brentford and Isleworth

Over 1,000 people catch the virus in the week before Christmas

Number of people being admitted to hospital rising sharply

Brentford and Isleworth have seen over 1,000 new cases of Covid-19 in the week up to Christmas Day.

The area is currently seeing the highest infection rates since the start of the virus in March 2022. Although vaccination and booster jabs are protecting more people from the worst effects of the disease, hospitalisations are increasing across London.

The worst affected area at the moment is the locality designated as Brentford West and Osterley which has an infection rate of over 2,000 per 100,000 which means that 2% of the population have tested positive in the week up to Christmas Day.

Brentford Central has a rate just below 2,000 with 206 positive tests being recorded in just seven days.

The rates of increase in the disease appear to have peaked for the time-being with Brentford East actually seeing a small fall in the number of cases on a week on week basis.

A local GP said, “What we don’t know at this stage is if the rates of growth in infections have slowed because Omicron has blown itself out due to its virulence or if this is just a function of fewer people getting tested once Christmas arrived and because test were becoming increasingly difficult to get.

“People rightly seem to be being cautious over New Year but an increased amount of mixing is inevitable. The figures for the first two weeks of 2022 will give us a truer picture.”

Anecdotally, local pharmacies appear to be running short of supplies of lateral flow tests and it has become difficult to order PCR tests through the government’s web site.

Hospitalisations are increasing sharply with 3,477 Covid-19 patients in hospitals in London on 30 December up from 2,097 the week before.

During the same period the number in mechanical ventilation beds in London rose from 196 to 232.

West Middlesex Hospital has been suffering from staff shortages due to people needing to self-isolate. The problem has reportedly been exacerbated by a Christmas party in the Accident & Emergency department after which up to 15 staff became infected.

Source: ONS

Hounslow borough has the sixth lowest rate of infection of any London local authority area with a rate of 1,572 per 100,000 population. This compares to 2,422 for Lambeth and 2,286 for Southwark. Infection rates for both of these boroughs peaked at over 3,000.

For London as a whole the infection rate was 1,885 cases per 100,000 in the week to 25 December up from 1,779 the previous week with 166,991 new cases. In England, 695,538 new cases were identified this week, a rate of 1230 cases per 100,000 population. This compares with 523,438 cases and a rate of 926 for the previous week

On 30 December 2021 the daily number of people tested positive for Covid-19 in London was reported as 24,320

Up to and including 29 December 6,298,194 people in London had received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, 5,710,186 had received two doses and 3,509,607 people had received either a third vaccine dose or a booster dose.

Kelly O’Neill, Director of Public Health for Hounslow Council said, The Omicron variant of Covid-19 currently means that we have a very high and increasing number of positive cases in the borough. This means that we all have a responsibility to protect ourselves and those around us.

"I want to urge everyone to take a few simple actions to keep us all safe. The most important thing that you can do is to make sure that you are fully vaccinated. It’s the best defence against the virus and to help protect our NHS. I have close links with the NHS, and I know first-hand the pressure that they are under and how they are only just managing to cope under the most challenging of circumstances.

"Even if you haven’t yet had your first jab then please do consider taking it. The booster vaccination is essential in giving full protection so please make sure you get this as soon as you are eligible. We have a large number of sites available for appointments and walk-ins and there is information on our website about this.

"Take a lateral flow test before meeting others; if it’s positive then follow isolation rules. Wear a face mask on public transport and in shops, this is the law and we do have enforcement officers to issue fines to all who are not exempt from wearing them. It’s just not fair to everyone if you don’t wear a mask when the rules say that you must do. Even though masks are not currently compulsory in other places such as bars and cafes you should still consider wearing one to protect other customers and staff.

"Getting out and about where possible, and seeing friends and family is vital for maintaining good mental and physical health and I hope everyone is able to do this; I just want everyone to do it safely."

December 31, 2021