Wandsworth Covid-19 Infections Reach Record Level


The West Hill area has seen the highest rate of cases

Covid-19 admissions rising in local hospitals
Covid-19 admissions rising in local hospitals

The latest figures on Covid-19 infections for the area around Wandsworth show that the number of cases has reached the highest level since the pandemic began.

There is quite a wide variance of the prevalence of disease with the West Hill area having nearly double the level of positive tests compared to the area around Wandsworth Common in the final week of 2020.

The areas designated West Hill North and West Hill South by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) had infection rates above 1,000 per 100,000, well above the London average. These areas are called Middle Super Output Areas (MSOA).

This level of infection and the resulting increase in admissions has resulted in the St. George's Hospital Trust cancelling non-urgent surgery and routine out-patient appointments.

However, the number of infections has stopped rising exponentially on a week by week basis and in some parts of Wandsworth the number of cases has started to fall.

Covid-19 Infections in the Wandsworth Area to 31 December
Area Cases Cases per 100,000 Change(%) Deaths since March

West Hill North (MSOA Wandsworth 022)

83
1,134.3
5.1
11

West Hill South (MSOA Wandsworth 028)

84
1,109.4
27.3
3
Clapham Junction & East Hill (MSOA Wandsworth 012)
83
828.4
-3.5
2
Earlsfield North (MSOA Wandsworth 019)
85
813.8
-7.6
8
Putney Town & Wandsworth Park (MSOA Wandsworth 010)
95
803.2
5.6
3

Earlsfield South (MSOA Wandsworth 024)

67
781.4
1.5
3

Wandsworth South (MSOA Wandsworth 018)

62
722.4
-18.4
2

Merton Road (MSOA Wandsworth 025)

64
704.3
-20.0
2

Southfields North (MSOA Wandsworth 020)

60
623.8
56.0
5
Wandsworth Common (MSOA Wandsworth 027)
49
573.2
-40.2
3

Source: ONS

Map showing MSOA around Wandsworth
Map showing MSOA around Wandsworth

The wider borough of Wandsworth continues to have a relatively low infection rate compared to the London average with the level per 100,000 reaching 747 for the most recent week. The worst areas for the virus continue to be in the east of the capital with Barking & Dagenham seeing a level nearly twice that of Wandsworth.

Three more people are so far known to have died in the area around Wandsworth Town since the second wave of the virus began and this number is expected to rise significantly. So far the total number of deaths in this area since the initial outbreak of the virus is 42.

In the most recent week of complete data, 25 December 2020 - 31 December 2020, 87,045 cases were identified in London, a rate of 971 cases per 100,000 population. This compares with 74,967 cases and a rate of 836 for the previous week. The average for England in the most recent week was 547 cases.

On 5 January the daily number of new people tested positive for Covid-19 in London was reported as 14,700 bringing the total number of infections in the capital since the beginning of the pandemic to over 450,000. In the same period over 2.4 million people have now caught the virus in England.

Professor Kevin Fenton, London Regional Director for Public Health England said, “London’s COVID-19 infection rates are the highest we’ve seen anywhere in the country at any point during the pandemic. The new variant of the virus which transmits more rapidly is widespread and dominant across London, so the ask is simple – it is critical we must all stay at home.

“This has never been more important whilst the NHS continues to deliver the vaccine to those who need it most, and London’s hospitals care for hundreds of new seriously unwell COVID-19 patients each day.

“If you need to leave home for an essential reason such as food shopping, attending medical appointments including getting a COVID-19 test or vaccine, act like you’ve got it so you don’t accidentally spread it - wear your mask, wash your hands and keep your distance from others.

“The best thing all Londoners can do is stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives.”

Tier four restrictions now apply to the area. These are similar to those imposed during the first national lockdown with people being told to stay at home - although travel for work is still permitted.

Social mixing is restricted to meeting one other person from outside your household in an open public space. All non-essential retail will have to close, along with hairdressers, nail bars and indoor entertainment venues.

Support bubbles remain unaffected, as do the exemptions for separated parents and their children.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

May 3, 2020