Reading's Covid case rate at highest level in nine months

The high case rates come as the percentage of people who take a test which comes back positive is also at its highest since February.

But the number of people in hospital in Reading with Covid and the number of deaths in the town from the virus are both much lower than the peak in January.

READ MORE: The latest coronavirus case and death numbers for Reading borough

These figures demonstrate the impact Covid-19 vaccines are having at reducing deaths and hospitalisations.

While the vaccines are less effective at reducing transmission, they are clearly having a big impact on this too, as people are mixing far more than in January, when England was in its third lockdown.

The NHS Confederation and the British Medical Association are among the groups who have called for some restrictions to be reintroduced in England, amid rising cases, but the Government says now is not yet the time do so.

Case rate at highest level in nine months

The case rate in Reading – the number of people who have Covid per 100,000 in the last week – is 594.4 as of October 19. This means roughly 1 in 167 people have had Covid in the most recent week with stats available.

This is the highest since January 20, when the rate was 611.8 – the highest level during the pandemic.

Positivity rate highest since February

PICTURED: A Covid PCR test

The positivity rate in Reading is at its highest since the beginning of February.

With tests becoming more and more available during the pandemic, it is important to look at positivity rate as this shows how many people who get a test receive a positive result rather than just how many cases there are.

A higher percent of positive tests suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who haven’t been tested yet.

The positivity rate is 9.3 per cent as of the latest figures from October 16, the highest since February 2 when it was 9.7 per cent.

This means, currently, almost one in 10 PCR tests come back positive.

The positivity rate reached a high of 19.3 per cent this year during January’s peak.

However, the positivity rate reached its highest point in the pandemic during the first wave, with a 63.6 per cent positivity rate on March 22, 2020.

Hospitalisations and deaths much lower than January high

PICTURED: Royal Berkshire Hospital

While Covid-19 vaccines reduce the amount of transmission of the disease, they are much more effective at limiting hospitalisations and deaths.

Looking at the number of people in hospital in the area now compared to in January, the number is much lower – showing how effective the vaccines have been.

The number of people in Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust hospitals with Covid reached its peak on January 19, when Royal Berkshire Hospital had 264 patients with the virus.

Nine months later, the number of Covid hospitalisations is at a much more manageable level with 23 patients in the trusts hospitals as of October 19.

This is despite the very similar case numbers in mid-October and mid-January, as shown above.

The Royal Berks had four people in Reading on ventilation beds as of the latest statistics from October compared to a high of 34 during January’s peak.

The number of Covid-19 deaths in Reading – which is measured as within 30 days of having test positive for Covid – reached its highest level during the first wave in 2020 with 70 deaths in April 2020.

READ MORE: Investigation after lab returns incorrect Covid tests near Reading

There were similar numbers of deaths in the second wave, with 66 deaths in January 2021.

So far in October, as of October 23, there have been a much lower six deaths in Reading within 30 days of contracting Covid-19.