Public Health team

Dagmar Zeuner, Director of Public Health provided a presentation, which is attached to this report. Dagmar said that the key message is that the number of COVID cases in Merton is coming down. For the last week there were 160 cases per 100,000 population. There was a bulge in the 16-29 age group with cases at 334 per 100,000. We are most concerned about the over 60s but the number of cases in this age group was also coming down.

The number of cases in the East of the borough is slightly higher than in the West but the difference is not significant. A spike of cases in the West in September has been tracked down to a recording issue, with students away at university testing positive but being linked to the home residence instead of their university. This has been changed by Public Health England. We are still tracking the number of cases by ethnicity and we are not seeing the same disproportionate impact on BAME communities that we saw in the first wave in the spring.

We have not seen a return to the death rates of the spring and ICU admissions for the most severe cases are also levelling off. The NHS still has sufficient capacity to cope so it is important that patients still attend appointments and elective procedures for other health issues.

Local contact tracing is up and running to supplement the national programme. New lateral flow tests are quick and do not involve the use of a laboratory. This makes them ideal for confined settings like health care providers and universities. In future they could be also be used in schools, care homes and local areas to manage outbreaks.

The vaccination programme will be led by the NHS with support from local authorities. The government has already identified priority groups based on risk levels. We are still waiting the final sign-off on the three vaccines, which is expected this month.

If agreed in Parliament tonight, London will be going into Tier 2 from tomorrow with restrictions on meeting with other households. The Hands, Face, Space message remains relevant is still key to stopping the spread.

COVID Community Champions are volunteers who are helping to communicate key messages in their communities. Dagmar thanked those who are giving up their time. To find out more you can email public.health@merton.gov.uk. There will be special ‘Celebrating Safely’ workshops on 14 December to offer practical tips for reducing the risk of COVID during the holiday season.

Dagmar was asked about the plans for distributing the vaccines. The Pfzer vaccine will need to be kept at storage hubs, St Georges and Croydon hospitals in South West London, due to the storage issues involved. Initially health workers will need to travel to those sites. As the regulator further reviews transportability of the Pfizer vaccine and other vaccines become available community vaccination sites will also be used, linked to Merton’s primary care networks. Preliminary plans include the Nelson and Wilson sites. Dagmar was also asked about promoting the vaccine given the history Merton has of relatively low take-up for existing vaccines. Dagmar said this was a fair point and there would be a coordinated communications campaign involving the NHS, the council and other local partners that will answer people’s questions. Dagmar said the NHS is currently promoting the flu jab that is free for over 50s and available from GPs and pharmacists.  

Dagmar was asked about Merton residents using the drive through testing site in Kingston, and which borough would be counted in. Dagmar explained that residents can book a space at any testing site through the portal and those who test positive will be counted in Merton regardless of where they go for a test. There are now two testing sites in Merton, one at Merton College and one in Mitcham and these can be booked though the portal. There is now sufficient testing capacity.