Newcastle’s council leader has hit out at the Government after hundreds of Covid-19 cases in the city went unreported.
Almost 16,000 positive cases across the country were missed off official data and contact tracing was delayed because of a technical glitch.
Newcastle City Council confirmed that an extra 474 coronavirus have been added to the city’s total from the seven days running to October 2.
That meant that the infection rate in Newcastle at the time was 376 cases per 100,000 people, not the 235 per 100,000 that was reported in the original, incorrect data.
Council leader Nick Forbes warned that measures to control the spread of the virus across the North East will have limited impact if local officials are not given the right data.
He said: “This is yet another catastrophic failure from an incompetent Government that is moving recklessly from one avoidable disaster to another.
“Across the North East we called for additional restrictions and measures built around the data we had, we did not call for these changes lightly and made the decisions based on intelligence and insight. If we cannot be confident in the data we are receiving from the Government how can we make these life altering decisions and do what is best for our residents and businesses?
“Our local Outbreak Control system, in conjunction with Public Health England, is working flat out to ensure that everyone in Newcastle who needs to self-isolate is contacted and that everyone who needs a test can get one, and we are seeing compliance from the majority of our residents.
“However, if the national set up is letting this system down by not having the full complement of data available, the impact of local action will be limited.
“The Government must act quickly to address this failure. Lots of people haven’t been traced in time and I hope that doesn’t mean the City will face yet further restrictions as a result.
“It is essential we have the right data at the right time in order for us to protect our residents, support our businesses and enable our region to recover from this pandemic.”
A further 567 new cases were reported in Newcastle over the weekend, pushing the city’s infection rate to above 400 per 100,000.
Lockdown restrictions across seven North East council areas were tightened last week as coronavirus cases continued to rise.
It is now illegal for residents in Newcastle, Gateshead, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham to socialise in any indoor setting with anyone outside their household or support bubble.
Test and Trace and PHE Joint Medical Advisor Susan Hopkins said that the discovery of the 15,841 unreported Covid cases “does not impact the basis on which decisions about local action were taken”.
She said: “This issue did not affect people receiving their Covid-19 test results and all people who tested positive have received their Covid-19 test result in the normal way. It also does not impact the basis on which decisions about local action were taken last week.
“All outstanding cases were immediately transferred to the contact tracing system by 1am on 3 October and a thorough public health risk assessment was undertaken to ensure outstanding cases were prioritised for contact tracing effectively.
“The advice remains the same. If you have tested positive you must self-isolate immediately for at least 10 days from when your symptoms began and we urge everyone who is contacted by NHS Test and Trace to provide details of their recent contacts.”
