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image captionColin Cox said the strain on the county s hospitals was not sustainable
The deaths of more than 1,000 people in Cumbria from coronavirus is stark and hospitals remain under extremely serious pressure, the county s health chief has said.
Data published by Cumbria s Health Protection Board showed the figure was passed late last month.
Colin Cox, director of public health at the county council, urged people to continue efforts to slow Covid-19.
County council leader Stewart Young described the death toll as sobering .
Mr Cox said: We ve known we would pass 1,000 deaths, though seeing it in the official figures is stark and my thoughts are with everyone who has lost a loved one.
More than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths recorded in Cumbria
04/02/2021
The latest official data shows that more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in Cumbria.
Cumbria County Councilâs cabinet were told about the latest figures at a meeting this morning.
The Office of National Statistics data shows there were 1,066 deaths up to the week ending January 22, with a new high of 95 COVID-19 deaths during that week.
A COVID-19 death is any that occurs within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19.
As a result of current lockdown restrictions, new infections continued to fall in the week ending 29 January, but over 1,300 people in the county tested positive in that week
Hertfordshire County Council says there are currently no plans to expand £500 self-isolation grants to specific people if they test positive for Covid-19. In an effort to reduce the spiralling rates of infection in its area, Essex County Council announced a £3 million fund to ensure those who might not be covered by Government funding schemes can also be compensated for self-isolating. Right now in Hertfordshire, residents who test positive for Covid-19 could be entitled to a £500 Test and Trace Support Payment scheme by the Government as they self-isolate. However many residents may be ineligible for the Government payment, and the new fund introduced in Essex aims to help those neglected.
Hertfordshire Tier 3: More Covid-marshals and testing upgrades for worst-affected areas as cases spike
The council are spending more than £1.6 million on Covid marshals to enforce rules
A Covid-19 mobile test centre sign (Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)
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The news has intensified the debate about the merits of the multi-billion-pound mass testing programme, which is being rolled out at speed across the country before a full scientific evaluation has been completed.
Sky News understands that the initial results from the study of the pilot, which is being conducted by University of
Liverpool academics, were only presented to SAGE yesterday. A source familiar with the research said that the final report could be weeks away. It s scandalous, said Allyson Pollock, director of the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University. They re putting in place an intervention that hasn t been evaluated, will possibly do more harm and will cost a lot of money.