We have received this update on the Lancashire Covid-19 picture. It has been drawn mostly from the Lancashire Resilience Forum. We hope you find it useful when making your plans.
The all-important R rate in Lancashire is very close to 1 and, worryingly, it has been increasing in recent days. The levels of infection are especially high in Lancaster and in Blackpool. Of particular concern is the care home sector and 529 homes in the county are affected. The County Council strongly advised schools not to re-open this week, based in part on the fact that two of the five tests have not yet been satisfied in the region.
It is imporatnt to realise that the infection peaked later in the North-west and some areas of Lancashire may not be clearly past the peak. There are concerns that some of the national messaging means that people will tempted to relax restrictions when we in Lancashire are still in a difficult situation.
People and churches should not to push the boundaries at this time, even given the frustrations of so many weeks in lockdown.