West Putney Identified as Covid-19 Hot Spot
Rise of particular concern because of number of over 65s in the area
The latest figures on cases of Covid-19 show that there has been a cluster of infections in the West Putney area.
The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) from the 27 August to 2 September show that there were 7 cases in a specific part of SW15. The ONS divide the country into ‘Middle Super Output Areas’ (MSOAs) of roughly equal population size. The Putney West MSOA had four new cases during the week and the adjacent Putney Embankment & Lower Common MSOA had three. Across the borough only the Wandsworth Common MSOA had a higher incidence with 5 cases.
West Putney is deemed to be particularly vulnerable because of the concentration of over 65s in the area including many who live on their own. Roehampton also has a high concentration of older people and those with high risk factors such as heart disease, respiratory disease and other conditions.
In a tweet from the council’s Twitter account, Queenstown, Latchmere wards were also named as having a high number of cases.
Younger people from a white ethnic background are still making up the majority of coronavirus cases in the borough, with many cases said to be related to international travel. The council is reiterating advice to young people to maintain social distancing in order to keep themselves safe and protect vulnerable people they come into contact with.
This week's Wandsworth #Covid_19 update shows young people are still making up the majority of new cases. The highest number of cases were in Queenstown, Latchmere Wandsworth Common and West Putney wards.
— Wandsworth Council (@wandbc) September 4, 2020
See full data on DataWandhttps://t.co/pyxtSn4tqO pic.twitter.com/WAKqaz6ien
Across the borough have been 50 new cases in the last seven days, compared to 51 last week. However, there have been no new deaths.
Over the week Wandsworth had the third highest testing rate in London (1,112 per 100,000 residents). Of those tested this week, 2.1 per cent of people got positive results for the virus. This remains unchanged from last week.
The weekly rate for August 24 to August 30 is 17.5 cases per 100,000 people. This is a slight increase of last week’s rate of 17.2.
Neighbouring Richmond and Kingston both have a rate of 13.7 cases per 100,000 people.
As of 4 September, there have been 1,444 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Wandsworth since the beginning of the pandemic.
The test will only show if you have the infection on the day of the test and not if you have already had Covid-19.
People with symptoms must book an appointment, where the details of the location of the testing site will be provided.
If Wandsworth is not shown as one of the options when you book, the council says you should try again later.
Written with contributions from Sian Bayley - Local Democracy Reporter
September 7, 2020