Preston’s coronavirus cases are continuing to spike with one of the largest daily rises in recent weeks.
Advertisement69 positive tests were returned for Covid-19 in the city council boundary area.
Preston also has one of the highest infection rates in the UK with 2,431 cases since March and an infection rate of 1,698.4 cases per 100,000 people.
South Ribble saw 14 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday (October 2) taking the area’s infection rate to 791 per 100,000 people.
Lancashire, the county council area, has seen a total of 13,211 cases since March.
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Preston has seen 111 deaths since March, where people have died within 28-days of a positive Covid-19 test, and South Ribble has recorded 63 deaths.
Lancashire, the county council area, has seen 845 deaths from coronavirus since March.
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2,084 patients across England are currently in hospital being treated for coronavirus, and 310 of those are on ventilation. The latest available figures show 328 people were admitted to hospital in England with Covid-19 on 30 September.
Read more: City of Preston 10k cancelled due to Covid-19 cases rise
The three directors of public health for Lancashire have warned that Preston, and Lancashire, could be ‘just weeks away’ from a full county-wide lockdown.
Hospital admissions for coronavirus have begun to increase and they are saying it’s important Prestonians don’t mix with anyone outside of their household or social bubble.
Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health for the county council, said; “The people of Lancashire have sacrificed so much already, and we know that what we are asking of people is tough. But we need to act now to control the spread of the virus, so that more restrictive measures aren’t put in place, we can lift the current ones sooner and ultimately so that we save lives.
“There are rumours that people aren’t getting ill, that hospital admissions are low. From someone who has been working on this from the beginning and speaks to frontline workers in our NHS every day, this is far from the truth. We are starting to see hospitalisations rise, and unfortunately with this, excess deaths will be inevitable, especially as we enter the difficult winter period.
“We’ve done one lockdown and I’m sure we took many positive experiences from that – spending more time outdoors appreciating nature, quality time with our loved ones and taking the time to slow down. But if we’re being honest, none of us want to go through that again, but what we are facing is a very real prospect of this.
“The restrictions in place now may seem draconian but they are far from a true lockdown scenario. We’re simply asking people to avoid mixing beyond their own households and be responsible. If we all take small steps to achieve that, we will get the numbers down in time.
“We are at a critical stage in which the whole of Lancashire is in the same position and we really all need to come together and do it for our county.
“We should all take some comfort in knowing that we are in the same boat and we’re working towards a shared goal. Let’s do it for our children, for Dial, Christmas, birthdays, weddings, religious events, holidays and everything else we haven’t been able to fully enjoy since March.”
Read more: Preston businesses encouraged to use Covid-19 tracing app
A number of video messages with public health figures explaining lockdown measures have been shared on social media in recent days.
Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines
What do you think about the current coronavirus restrictions in Preston? Have you seen the city sticking to them? Let us know your views in the comments below