Minutes:
It has been identified that there are two sets of figures for Covid-19, one called Pillar 1, which covers NHS/Hospital figures, this represents about 10% of the overall tests and has been well known and available. However there is a second set of figures, known as Pillar 2, which represents about 90% of the total testing done in the UK (done by companies and at various sites across the UK). This figure has often not been made available to local Councils and others, where it has, it has been often late. This is extremely concerning. In Leicester for example Pillar 1 indicated around 28 cases, but Pillar 2 identified 944. Hence the lockdown now occurring there.
At the last O&SC Management meeting (June 24), I asked how many Wokingham Borough residents had had Covid-19 and was advised this was on the website and the figure was 430. I also asked the number of deaths associated with Covid-19 and the figure given was I believe 130. Can you advise whether this figure is only the Pillar 1 figure, or whether it includes, or omits the Pillar 2 figures and has WBC been advised of the Pillar 2 figures during the time testing has been taking place by these bodies?
This is an extremely worrying issue and needs to be understood, and what is more residents of Wokingham Borough need to be made clear what the position is in our Borough.
Answer
As everyone knows, testing was not widespread at the beginning of the pandemic, but is now widely available to everyone who needs it.
Pillar 1 and 2 gives us the information about WBC positive cases through antibody testing. Pillar 1 is swab testing carried out by Public Health England (PHE) and NHS labs. These are primarily hospital patients and key workers. Some of our care homes were tested in these labs. Pillar 2 is swab testing done by commercial labs on behalf of the Government. This is testing for the wider population through the NHS or Gov.uk websites. This includes our care homes who were tested using the on line portal. Pillar 2 testing started later than Pillar 1 and has been gradually increasing.
Up to the 2nd July, 2,947,392 tests have been done in Pillar 1 (36%) and 5,130,686 tests done in Pillar 2 (64%).
Up to the 1st July WBC has been reporting just Pillar 1 data, with 485 cases reported. There have been no Pillar 1 cases in Wokingham since the 14th June.
Pillar 2 data was made available to Local Authorities and the general public on Friday of last week. Somehow, it made its way into the Daily Mail before then. PHE are now able to combine the data sets with a new methodology that enables them to remove duplicates and provide accurate data. The confirmed cases for Wokingham Borough are:
· Pillar 1 total cases: 458 (previously reported by WBC);
· Pillar 2 total cases: 126 cases;
· Total cases in Wokingham Borough is now 584.
As a comparison:
· The infection rate in Wokingham Borough is: 348 per 100,000;
· The infection rate average in England is: 436 per 100,000.
As a result of the new Pillar 2 data being available, it has emerged that the number of cases in Wokingham Borough did increase with one case in the week June 15 to June 21 and five cases in the week June 22 to June 28. This has increased the weekly rate from 0.6 to 3.
In relation to death data, this has not changed. This is reported by the ONS.
Up to 17th May there were 130 Covid-19 related deaths.
Up to 19th June there were 147 Covid-19 related deaths in Wokingham.
Supplementary Question
There was a press release on Friday which, I think, effectively answered my question tonight, which was submitted on Tuesday. The public need to be aware that there is a significant variance in certain parts of the country with regard to the number of cases reported to the council. Throughout, we have been given Pillar 1 data, but now we are finding that Pillar 2, which is the greater size and is now coming on stream. Was that information kept back or was it released as a result of pressure in the public domain for the past week?
Supplementary Answer
I agree with you fully. It is deeply frustrating to me and the Officers that this information just lands on us without warning. It was kept back, basically, because it was not ready, is what we are being told. We think that this is wrong. We think that this is very poor. If councils are being asked to plan for Covid-19 and the reaction locally, they should have accurate, honest and timely information. So, not only can they plan but they can also brief the public about the real situation.