Oxford will move to ‘high’ Covid-19 alert level as cases continue to rise

Oxford will officially move to ‘high’ Covid-19 alert level at the weekend as cases continue to rise.

Yesterday (Wednesday) we reported that Oxfordshire County Council suspected that figures for the city were under reported after the Cherwell district was recorded as having the highest increase of cases in the county.

See our previous story here.

Those figures are currently being investigated.

Oxford will be moved into the government’s ‘high’ or tier 2 alert level after a further rise in cases.

The move means that Oxford residents will need to abide by new rules from Saturday October 31.

Thames Valley Police said: "Evidence continues to show that, in the past three weeks, the virus has spread to a much wider age range across the county and is no longer confined to younger people in urban areas.

"Hospital admissions have begun to increase as a result."

Bruno Holthof, Oxford University Hospitals CEO, said: “We have moved from a position of low and stable hospital admission rates over the summer to one in which admission rates are increasing. We know there is a time lag between rising cases and an increase in hospital admissions and so we expect to see a further increase in hospitalisation rates over the coming weeks.”

What are the features of the ‘high’ level of COVID alert?

- People must not meet socially with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place

- People must not meet in a group of more than six outside, including in a garden or other space.

- People should aim to reduce the number of journeys they make where possible. If they need to travel, they should walk or cycle where possible. If taking public transport, they should plan ahead and avoid busy times and routes.

Further information is available at https://www.oxford.gov.uk/tier2