A verbal update is to be provided on the surveillance of the data and intelligence concerning COVID-19.
Minutes:
Witnesses:
Dr Naheed Rana - Public Health Consultant, Surrey County Council
Ruth Hutchinson - Director of Public Health, Surrey County Council
Lorna Hart - Covid Vaccination Programme Director, Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Service
Key points raised in the discussion:
1. The Public Health Consultant (SCC) noted:
· the ongoing review of the Covid-19 data on a daily basis concerning the cases, positivity rates, triangulation with the vaccination uptake, contact tracing and other intelligence, that information was disseminated with partners across the system and led to targeted actions.
· the epi curve of Covid-19 cases in Surrey since March 2020, the graph showed the number of cases as well as the tracking of the seven-day averages and most recently there was a downward trend following the fluctuation over Christmas and New Year.
· that the total number of positive cases to date in Surrey up to 8 February 2022 was 328,667.
· that the fourteen-day rate was a more stable indicator and the seven-day rate provided a useful benchmark; for the most recent seven-period 6-12 February 2022 the seven-day rate for Surrey was 798.9 per 100,000 population which was above the South East rate at 736.5 per 100,000 population and above the England rate at 563.9 per 100,000 population.
· the breakdown of Surrey’s boroughs and districts and their ranking nationally whereby all were above the England average; Waverley (ranked third) and Woking (ranked ninth) were ranked in the top ten nationally.
· a bar chart highlighting the seven-day rates for Surrey’s boroughs and districts as compared to other areas and the London boroughs.
· the publicly available infographic ‘Surrey Covid-19 Summary: Cases and Rates’ which showed the seven-day average of rates and cases within Surrey’s boroughs and districts which were on a downward trend.
· the vaccinations uptake figures - first, second and booster doses - for Surrey and its boroughs and districts, compared to England and the South East; Surrey’s uptake across all three doses was above the England average, Surrey was ranked highly in terms of its uptake for those with learning disabilities or a serious mental illness - that was testament to the system-wide effort.
· that Omicron was the dominant Variant of Concern (VoC) taking over from Delta, a BA.2 lineage was identified on 7 February 2022 but the BA.1 lineage remained dominant.
· the heat map of cases per 100,000 population in Surrey by age group between 13 January - 5 February 2022 which showed a stripe across the age groups where more mixing took place, those rates were decreasing; heat maps were also shown for each of Surrey’s boroughs and districts.
· the heat maps of weekly case rates per 100,000 population by local authority for Surrey and the surrounding areas from 2 January-12 February 2022, Surrey and the South East were on a downward trend.
· the intelligence and triangulation undertaken regularly, looking at the seven-day case rate and first dose uptake and how they linked to the Index of Multiple Deprivation deciles, by Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) which was a smaller geographical area whereby variations, trends and outliers within Surrey could be picked up and areas with higher rates and lower first dose uptake could be targeted.
· the trends around cases, hospital admissions and fatalities in Surrey from May 2021-January 2022 which showed a plateau in hospital admissions and a decline in cases and fatalities.
· that in addition to the Covid-19 infographic (short report) published twice weekly, the Covid-19 Intelligence Summary (long report) was published every Friday and was shared across the system.
2. The Chairman commented that the intelligence collated such as on the case rates and vaccination uptake and the various maps were highly informative and she commended the system on the promotion of the pop-up vaccination centres across the county; she further noted that there was more work to do but welcomed the improvement in the case rates.
3. Referring to the upcoming national announcement from the Prime Minister with regards to Covid-19 and moving forwards, the Chairman queried whether there had been any preparation work into what the impact of the announcement would mean and what the system needed to do to be ready for any changes.
- In response, the Public Health Consultant (SCC) noted that planning had been underway and the different mitigations and potential risks were in place and she noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) was the official line on when the pandemic started and when it ends; intelligence gathering and joined-up working would continue to ensure that residents were protected.
- In response, the Director of Public Health (SCC) highlighted that:
- throughout the past two years of the pandemic Surrey has had to continually adapt to the changes to national policy.
- early signalling had been received on what the new living with Covid-19 plan might entail regarding the three key areas of testing, contact tracing and vaccinations - in advance of the upcoming national announcement from the Prime Minister.
- whilst the detail of the new national policy was unknown the system sought to plan and anticipate those changes through the Surrey Heartlands ICS Resilience and Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response Board (EPRR) and the Covid Management Group (CMG).
- she had a discussion with the Chairman as to the timing of the Board which was taking place a few days before the Prime Minister’s national announcement and noted that the Board would receive an update following the announcement, the Local Outbreak Management Plan (LOMP) would need to be updated and would be sent to the Board for information.
- Surrey shared best practice with its neighbours across the South East.
- confirmation had been received that theContain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) could be carried forward - it was anticipated that there would be no more COMF money in the future.
- In response, the Covid Vaccination Programme Director, Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Service (ICS) explained that the ICS had started to engage on what 2022/23 might look like. Following the Prime Minister's national announcement on Monday, it was anticipated that a planning letter would come forward and through the CMG the ICS would be engaging with its wider partners on what the changes would entail going forward.
4. A Board member noted that the response by the Director of Public Health (SCC) on the COMF would be of interest to the Surrey Chief Executives’ Group, she queried whether the money that was provided to the Borough and District Councils by Surrey County Council could also be carried forward and presumed that the Borough and District Councils should let the Finance team (SCC) know how much they intend to carry forward.
- In response, the Director of Public Health (SCC) confirmed the above assumptions and noted that the ability to carry forward the COMF was a relief, she would look to ensure that the ability to carry forward the COMF by Surrey’s Borough and District Councils would be communicated as soon as possible by the Finance team (SCC).
5. The Chairman welcomed the reassurance that the Board would receive an update following the national announcement by the Prime Minister; and noted a discussion with the Director of Public Health (SCC) on the timing of the Board where it was felt that it was important to hold February’s Board meeting as scheduled. She further noted that the work across the system on Covid-19 would continue and that the Board would continue to operate - how it moves forward in the future would be kept under review.
RESOLVED:
The Board noted the verbal update and presentation.
Actions/further information to be provided:
1. Following the UK Prime Minister’s upcoming national announcement in the week commencing 21 February 2022:
a) the Board will receive an update on the changes going forward.
b) the Local Outbreak Management Plan (LOMP) will be updated and will be sent to the Board for information.
2. The Director of Public Health (SCC) will look to ensure that the ability to carry forward the COMF by Surrey’s Borough and District Councils will be communicated as soon as possible by the Finance team (SCC).