THE number of coronavirus cases has dropped over the last seven days but the case rate remains high in Swindon.

And the town’s director of public health Steve Maddern has urged caution in looking at the figures.

The case rate in Swindon was 342.8 cases per 100,000 people yesterday, down from 490.8 the previous week, but higher than the south west average of 338.2.

“I think people are getting very excited at all levels across England around this massive reduction in the case numbers, but I think we need to be very cautious about that,” Mr Maddern said.

“I think there have been several things that have been going on that account for some of the reasons why we’ve seen quite a high spike and then reducing again.

“Some of the things include the schools, which are not in anymore, and we’ve seen quite a significant drop in school cases.

“We know through some of the anecdotal evidence that some sporting activities like the Euros, had a big contribution to the increase in case numbers particularly amongst men.”

Thursday recorded the highest number of people being pinged by the NHS track and trace app in the last week. “This is actually helping to encourage behaviour because it’s making lots of people self-isolate, but also other people have been more cautious when they’re out and about in a bid to not be pinged.

“Although we are seeing that case rate reducing, which is really positive, we need to treat those figures cautiously. It’s still a high case rate, so there’s still more that people need to be doing in regard to following the guidance.”

Cases have reduced in all postcodes across Swindon except SN1 and SN25. In the last two weeks, the Delta variant has accounted for around 8.1 per cent of the cases in Swindon. “It is not the dominant variant across Swindon, although we know it’s the dominant variant in England,” he said.

Within the last 15 days, 75 per cent of cases have been recorded in the under 40s, with around 47 per cent among under 25s. “What we are seeing is a greater vaccine uptake in the younger age groups now which is really great, the 18 to 25. But we’re not seeing as high as an uptake in the 26 to 30-year-olds. We need to be continuing to promote vaccine in those age groups.

“We are still seeing some of those issues around young people saying ‘I don’t need the vaccine I’m young, fit and healthy’. But we need them to understand that is not only about protecting you, but it’s also about protecting those vulnerable people.”