‘Steady increase’ in coronavirus cases leads to plea for everyone in Sunderland to stick to the rules

Gillian Gibson, director of public health for Sunderland City Council, has given an insight into the pandemic across Wearside in the wake of evidence the number of people in the area with positive tests has gone up.

The council has stressed while this is not linked to concerns sparked when someone with the virus visited bars – prompting them to close and carry out a deep clean – more people have requested tests as a result of the raised alert.

While the area’s testing programme sees around 70 people daily, a total of 300 tests were requested in the weekend afterwards, and more overall between Friday, July 31 and Wednesday, August 5.

The “surge” has led to a greater understanding of the situation on a local level.

In her latest update, Ms Gibson said there were 19 new cases in the week up to Friday, August 7, and seven so far this week.

As she warned people to steer clear of areas with high infections, she stressed the importance of social distancing, the risk of visiting other homes, pubs and events, the importance of handwashing and using face coverings correctly.

She also noted people should not socialise indoors in groups of more than two households, including in pubs and restaurants, while it is still against the law for more than 30 people to meet in homes, including gardens and outdoor spaces.

The health boss said: "Stay away from others as much as possible to keep yourself, your family and your community safe.

"By doing this, we can avoid a return to the restrictions we saw earlier in the year.

“While the number of cases is still low compared to some parts of the country, we are now seeing more cases on more days and the situation in Sunderland remains finely balanced.

"Some people without symptoms can still have the virus and pass it on to others.”

For more information about symptoms and self-isolation, visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/when-to-self-isolate-and-what-to-do/.

Anyone with symptoms should self-isolate and book a test via www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or call 119.

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