"I want action" - calls for council ward based COVID testing and track and trace as Cross Gates ward sees number of cases triple in a matter of weeks

There have been calls for more COVID action in specific council wards as certain areas see virus cases spike by several hundred in just a few weeks.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

In just over a month the coronavirus cases in the Cross Gates and Whinmoor ward have increased by three times as many and now stand at 50 per cent more than the average for the city of Leeds as a whole.

Ward councillors Peter Gruen and Pauline Grahame have appealed directly to the city's Director of Public Health, council and health services asking for more to be done locally to try and stop the spread and the spike - and to understand why it has occurred.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

For the week October 29 to November 4 there were 614 cases for the Cross Gates and Whinmoor ward per 100,000 people. That followed 635 cases for October 22 to 28 and 640 cases per 100,000 people for the week before.

More testing needed in local wards as coronavirus cases spike.More testing needed in local wards as coronavirus cases spike.
More testing needed in local wards as coronavirus cases spike.

Just a fortnight prior to that the figures for Cross Gates in the last week of September were 190.3 cases per 100,000 people.

Coun Gruen told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "If we are 600 cases per 100,000 when the average is 400, we are 50 per cent higher than the city average. I want some action now. We need extra attention to get it down to at least, if not below, the city average.

Read More
Read More: Latest COVID figures

Coun Gruen said the director of public health had told him it was community transmission but with no hospital in the ward, no big business operation or public event that brought people to Cross Gates - he concedes he is at a loss as to why the spike occurred.

Coun Peter Gruen of the Crossgates and Whinmoor ward.Coun Peter Gruen of the Crossgates and Whinmoor ward.
Coun Peter Gruen of the Crossgates and Whinmoor ward.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, he has called for more ward by ward based community testing, track and trace and even a mobile testing unit to be deployed in Cross Gates.

He added: "People have contacted me. They recognise that it is high and have said they want local track and trace schemes and I totally agree with that. They need to tackle it where the situation is worse and give priority to the areas that top the infection rate."

Behind Cross Gates and Whinmoor in the latest tables was the Temple Newsam ward which for October 29 to November 4 recorded 608 cases per 100,000 people. It had 631 the week before but 108 cases per 100,000 for the last week of September.

Wetherby, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill and the Little London and Woodhouse wards were in the bottom three with 265.5, 370.9 and 320.3 cases respectively.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, in the week beginning September 24, Little London had 1158.8 cases, and 1676.9 during the first week of October, but cases reduced in their hundreds the following weeks.

It comes as rates for Headingley and Hyde Park, which have previously been high, have also started to reduce - which Coun Gruen puts down to students moving to Leeds and targeted COVID action being put into place.

Coun Gruen explains: "The University of Leeds put a lot of preventative work in with public health, track and trace and whatever. The student infection rates have come down a lot over the last few weeks. In Headingley, Hyde Park, Woodhouse, Harehills, Kirkstall they have come down, it is other areas now which are towards the top. They managed to take some good action and I want that in my ward."

The Department for Health and Social Care said that more than half a million rapid-turnaround lateral flow tests will be sent out by NHS Test and Trace to local public health leaders in the coming days.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Test kits will be issued to over 50 directors of public health across England and each will receive a batch of 10,000 antigen lateral flow devices as part of a new pilot to enable them to start testing priority groups.

Directors of public health will determine how to prioritise the allocation of these new tests, based on the specific needs of their communities, and will determine how people in the local area are tested. They will be supported by NHS Test and Trace to expand testing programmes in their area through access to training and clinical and operational guidance.

The department added: "This rollout will further develop the evidence base for how testing with fast, reliable COVID-19 tests can be delivered at scale. Local leaders will also benefit from a more accurate picture of the number of cases in their area, by picking up those who may not have symptoms, supporting local decision-making to manage the spread of the virus and support their communities."

Support the YEP and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news and the latest on Leeds United, With a digital subscription, you see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.