Less than one in a thousand have Covid-19 in Barnet, Camden and Haringey

At their peaks in early January, both Barnet and Haringey had confirmed infection rates of more than one in 100.

All three boroughs have seen their infection rates shrink by more than 90% since the height of the second wave in early January.

As infection rates continued to fall in the second week of February, data showed hospital occupancy and deaths were also dropping at the trusts serving the three boroughs.

This was the picture as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepared to announce his “roadmap” for easing lockdown restrictions.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Monday, February 22 that “all schools” would fully reopen on March 8.

On February 16 - the latest day of verified data – Barnet had 363 confirmed coronavirus infections, giving the borough an infection rate of 91.7 cases per 100,000 people.

That was down 24% on the week before and 91% on its January 4 peak, when it had 1,053.4 cases per 100,000.

Camden had 164 cases, or 60.7 cases per 100,000 – a fall of 24.4% in a week and 92% compared to its January peak.

Haringey had 237 confirmed cases, so 88.2 cases per 100,000 – down 25.5% on a week earlier and 92% on its January peak.

NHS data showed positive trends in hospitals as well.

On February 16, there were 303 patients at the Royal Free and Whittington Health trusts.

That was down 29% on week earlier, when there were 426.

In early January, there were more than 700.

Intensive care occupancy remains extremely high across the two trusts, which have more than doubled their capacity to cope with the second wave of the pandemic. However, numbers are coming down slightly.

On February 14, they had 111 adult critical care beds filled. A week earlier it had been 121.

Coronavirus deaths at the two trusts are also falling.

They recorded a combined 37 deaths linked to Covid-19 in the week up to February 11.

The previous week it was 63. In January, the weekly figure topped 100 for three weeks in a row.