December 31, 2021 11.41 am This story is over 26 months old

The three Lincolnshire postcodes with lowest COVID rates in East Midlands

They’re surrounded by high infection areas

A postcode in Scunthorpe, and two areas on the Lincolnshire coast, have the lowest COVID rates in the whole of the East Midlands.

 

The Scunthorpe Central district is an island of blue in a sea of purple of high coronavirus rates.

The area – which covers most of the town centre and Crosby area – has a rate of just 265 cases per 100,000 people according to the latest data.

It is one of only a handful in the country to still be in the blue tier (200 to 399 per 100,000).

To find another area with such a low rate, you would need to travel at least 50 miles to Sutton-on-Sea on the Lincolnshire coast near Mablethorpe.

Beyond that, the only other blue areas are Wainfleet All Saints near Skegness, Bridlington, or parts of Wakefield.

While most areas have seen their rates shoot up as the Omicron variant spreads, Scunthorpe Central’s has actually dropped.

It had 26 cases in the latest week of figures, down five from the previous week.

All other neighbourhoods around Grimsby and Scunthorpe are colour-coded either light purple (400 to 799 per 100,000) or dark purple (800 to 1599 per 100,000).

An extra tier has been introduced for the Omicron variant wave to represent areas above 1,600 cases for every 100,000 people.

There are a number of possible reasons for the surprisingly low rate in Scunthorpe Central.

It could simply be that little COVID is transmitting in that area, although neighbouring parts of town have rates that are three times higher.

People living there may also be testing less, so less positive cases are being found.

That area has shown much lower vaccination rates than average. It could be that residents don’t want to get tested, or feel they aren’t able for various reasons.

North Lincolnshire’s public health director has urged people to rigorously test and try to restrict the spread of the Omicron strain wherever possible.

Tessa Lindfield said: “Although the Omicron variant appears to be milder, the greater risk is what happens with a lot of cases in a short space of time.

“We could see lots of people off work, including the staff in our hospitals, the people who deal with crime and who run our everyday public services. This includes people who have tested positive themselves or are looking after others who are ill.

“It is a different sort of harm to the deaths we saw in previous waves, but is still serious.

“I would urge people to think carefully about where they are going out – we need to do whatever we can to slow down the spread. You could be talking to a nurse in a pub and be the person that transmits COVID to her.”