Northants health boss urges unwell to stay off to stop Covid

A health official urged people feeling unwell to not go to work or public places to stop the spread of Covid.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show an estimated 2.3 million people - or one in 30 - has the virus, a rise of 32% on the week before.

Sally Burns, interim director of public health for West Northamptonshire, said the area had seen a 50% week-on-week rise in cases.

She said "some precautions" from earlier in the pandemic were needed.

The rise is being driven by two new fast-spreading sub-variants of Omicron - called BA.4 and BA.5 - and people can be infected even if they have had Covid before.

Ms Burns said although there had been a rise in cases "the numbers are nowhere near the level we've seen previously".

She said "If you're feeling a little unwell don't go into work, don't go to a place where you're going to meet other people."

The health official also said people should consider wearing a mask in crowded places.

Neil Russell, chairman of PJ Care, which runs neurological care centres in Milton Keynes and Peterborough, said covering members of staff off with Covid was a "challenge".

He said: "Last month we had 30 members of staff here who tested positive and they were isolation for five to 10 days.

"It has a big impact, we had to put the whole building into lockdown."

Alex Clarke, landlord of the Black Bull in Balsham, Cambridgeshire, had to cancel all his weekend bookings after his head chef tested positive for Covid.

He said: "It's taken by us by surprise - we thought it was all over but it's not.

"The difficulty now, because of the low staffing, it means if we do get any cases it hits harder than we used to."

"If a key player goes down we can't operate."

He agreed "if you're ill you stay away" but added "we've just got to get on with life and manage".

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