Dr Bruce Laurence, Director of Public Health, has told the Local Outbreak Engagement Board this afternoon that the Somer Valley is "far from local lockdown," but confirms there have been 26-30 reported cases of coronavirus in the past week in B&NES, more than half of which have been in the Midsomer Norton area. He said that some cases had been related to a local pub and an associated social group and venues, with some minor workplace involvement.

With the temporary local testing unit at Paulton Rovers Football Club extended for a second time, residents must book to attend and should arrive by car and not use public transport. It will now be at the site until 3rd September following a rise in confirmed cases. Those wishing to book an appointment should visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested or dial 119.

There is expected to be a mobile testing centre coming to Odd Down and up to two walk-in centres in Bath in future.

Dr Laurence told the panel that nationally, cases are starting to slowly rise again after lockdown, but those reported recently tended to be in young, working age people and are not leading to many hospital admissions or any deaths in the local area at present. He said that cases were being linked to social situations around workplaces, but that this may not necessarily be due to the workplace environment and more to do with outside factors, such as traveling to work. He added that "everything depends on everyone" doing their bit and not to be complacent.

Presenting the Bath and North East Somerset figures, he reported that before the recent surge in cases in the Somer Valley, B&NES’ cases had been low, with no recent deaths, with the fifth lowest figures in the UK and the South West being the lowest region consistently. He added that the figures were not so positive nationally and internationally, with cases rising across the world, adding that the data was likely to be under than over-reported.

He said: “We are likely not to have a vaccine until next year and even that might not be highly effective… It’ll never go away, even if we do have a vaccine.”

The panel heard extensively from both of the Bath universities on plans to reintroduce students to the city safely, with shared living agreements and staggered travel times. Bath University said there could be only 20% of its students on campus on any one day.

Dr Laurence defended the idea that University students should be tested on arrival, adding that “the whole testing system is under pressure, even for current need”. He said it would take a while for the system to be “highly developed”. Answering questions around getting local children back to school, he said it was “desperately important” for children to return in September.

The meeting also heard from a Curo representative, who spoke about letting over 100 properties to priority homeless cases and the need for continuing support and funding. It had identified vulnerable people and spoke about support for those who could lose jobs when the Government furlough scheme ends in October. They also reported increased mental fragility due to the coronavirus pandemic and “well above average anti-social behaviour and quite serious criminal activity” as a result of restrictions, and that the association had been working closely with police. The police reported better plans for dealing with large gatherings such as the recent rave seen in Bath and the introduction of fines for those attending or organising large gatherings.

As well as input from the police, the meeting also heard from the CCG, who are “in the thick of winter planning,” and the Royal United Hospital, who reported a very low number of positive coronavirus cases at present.

Leader of B&NES Council, Dine Romero, said: “As we have seen in recent days, a new outbreak can occur very quickly and we need to respond. We can’t cover every eventuality. This virus changes and can impact different communities in different ways. It is important that we use every single opportunity to keep residents informed.”