Young people with Covid doubles in Worcestershire

The number of young people in Worcestershire who tested positive for Covid-19 doubled during the first few weeks of the new school term according to the latest figures.

A total of 1,207 people aged up to 19-years-old tested positive for Covid-19 in Worcestershire in the week up to September 29 – rising from 637 school-and-college-aged children in the first week of September when the new year started.

Figures show 921 people aged up to 19-years-old tested positive for coronavirus in the seven days up to July 21 when the academic year ended.

A total of 306 people aged up to nine-years-old tested positive for Covid-19 in the week between September 23 and 29 – 56 more than the week before and 143 more than the week ending September 8 according to NHS Test and Trace figures published by the UK Health Security Agency.

Figures also show that as many as 901 people aged between ten and 19-years-old also tested positive in the week up to September 29 – a rise of 140 people compared to the week before and 427 more than the number that tested positive in the week the new school year began.

The other age group to see a larger increase in the week compared to the start of the school year was the 40-to-49-year-olds where 354 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the week compared to 275 the week before and 283 in the week up to September 8.

As many as 213 people aged between 30 and 39-years-old tested positive for coronavirus in the week up to September 29 – a rise of 32 compared to the week before but down from 222 in the week up to September 8.

The number of people aged between 20 and 29-years-old that tested positive for Covid-19 fell in the week up to September 29 – dropping from 118 to 108 in a week and down from 224 in the week between September 2 and September 8.

The drop in the number of people aged between 20 and 29 testing positive in the first week of term compared to the end of the month was the biggest drop seen between the age groups in Worcestershire.