Preston and South Ribble’s latest coronavirus rates and cases have been confirmed as there are moves to make the Covid vaccination mandatory for care home staff in England.

Daily coronavirus cases in Preston for Wednesday (14 April) were recorded as five.

South Ribble saw three new Covid cases.

Wyre was up by two, Fylde the same number, Ribble Valley recorded -1 cases as the government continues to amend cases following last week’s change to rapid flow test results.

Chorley recorded six new coronavirus cases.

Preston’s Covid rate is now 46.1 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to April 10, down from 70.6 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to April 3.

See the latest coronavirus cases and information near you

Data for the most recent four days (April 11-14) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

South Ribble is now at 45.1 cases, up from 39.7 for the same two date periods as Preston.

Wyre’s rate dropped to 10.7, down from 12.5 and Fylde is at 19.8, up from 13.6.

Ribble Valley is down to 23, from 36.1 and Chorley is at 36.4, down from 60.1.

Read more: Covid vaccine being rolled out to 45-49 age group

Coronavirus vaccinations for care home staff could become mandatory

The Department of Health and Social Care has launched a consultation on making vaccination a condition of care home staff working at older adult care homes.

The five-week consultation will seek views on the proposal, any potential impact it could have on staffing and safety, how it could be implemented and who could be exempt.

Staff, care providers, residents and their families and other stakeholders are being urged to take part.

A decision is expected to be made this summer.

According to experts from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), 80% of staff and 90% of residents need to be vaccinated to provide a minimum level of protection against Covid-19 outbreaks.

The DHSC said nearly half of care homes for older residents in England are not meeting this threshold.

The Government is urging all care home workers to take up a jab now to keep themselves and residents safe.

See the latest coronavirus vaccination figures and information near you

Latest vaccination figures from NHS England show that 78.9% of older adult care home staff have had a jab.

Currently the staff vaccination rate is below 80% in 89 out of 150 local authority areas, including all London boroughs. In 27 local authority areas less than 70% of staff have had a jab.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Older people living in care homes are most at risk of suffering serious consequences of Covid-19 and we have seen the grave effects the virus has had on this group.

“Making vaccines a condition of deployment is something many care homes have called for, to help them provide greater protection for staff and residents in older people’s care homes and so save lives.

“The vaccine is already preventing deaths and is our route out of this pandemic. We have a duty of care to those most vulnerable to Covid-19, so it is right we consider all options to keep people safe.”

Read more: What you can and can’t do as Preston and Lancashire enter next phase of lockdown easing

Chairman of the Adult Social Care Covid-19 Taskforce David Pearson thanked staff for getting vaccinated, adding: “It is absolutely vital those who have not yet taken the opportunity to have their vaccine do so to keep themselves and those they care for safe.”

The proposal would not include staff who are exempt from taking the vaccine on medical grounds.

Some care providers already have policies in place on mandatory staff vaccination.

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