COVID rates in Wiltshire remain high as the county’s public health team urges residents to continue to play their part in stopping the spread.

As of 4pm Monday, September 6, there have been 1,665 cases in the last seven days in Wiltshire, compared to 1,846 cases the previous week.

This means that the current rate of cases per 100,000 in Wiltshire in the last seven days is 330.3.

For the third consecutive week the case rate in Wiltshire is above the national average of 309.4.

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Wiltshire public health consultant, Rachel Kent said: “We do need people to continue to be cautious and make sure that they’re doing everything they can to reduce the spread of the virus in our communities.

“It’s still possible to catch and spread Covid-19 even if you are fully vaccinated.

“Covid-19 is going to be a feature in our lives for the foreseeable future, so we’ve got to learn to live with it and manage the risks ourselves.”

The public health consultant added that residents should continue to exercise the measures (washing hands, keeping a safe distance and wearing face coverings in crowded places) instilled from the early stages of the pandemic.

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In Wiltshire there have been 858 registered deaths in total that included Covid-19 on the death certificate up to August, 20, 2021 -- an increase of three deaths on the total two weeks ago.

Residents are also advised to take lateral flow tests (LTFs) if they are attending mass-gathering events such as music festivals -- one before and after the event.

Schools

As schools and colleges in Wiltshire ease into a new academic year some things will be different than the previous years.

Pupils travelling to school or college using public transport are still advised to wear face coverings.

Schools have been carrying out the two on-site LFTs with pupils, and are encouraging families to continue to test twice weekly.

Schools are no longer required to have bubbles and no face coverings are required in classrooms or communal areas.

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Ms Kent said they do expect “a number of cases in children and young people” now that they have returned to the classroom.

“If there are a number of Covid cases in a setting, we can then potentially require the use of additional measures to be brought in for a short amount of time,” the public health consultant added.

“It might be that we ask a school to reissue face coverings in communal areas or it might be to try and reduce the mixing of pupils.”

She went on to add that they could ask for an increase in LFTs, but if there’s evidence of “unmitigated transmission” and other measures have been exhausted, in extreme circumstances, they may ask some pupils to switch to home learning for a short period.