No Bexley resident has died due to coronavirus in second wave so far

By Lachlan Leeming, Local Democracy Reporter

No Bexley resident has died due to coronavirus so far during the UK’s second wave, but local councillors are pushing for more detailed information regarding the impact of the virus on the borough’s health services.

Members of Bexley council’s outbreak board met for their digital meeting on Tuesday, just two days before a month-long national lockdown is set to be imposed across the UK.

It was less than a fortnight ago that members of the same board had been told London was “not close to getting to Tier 3 level yet”.

However, this meeting heard the rapid escalation had seen the overall rate of coronavirus jump to 150 cases per 100,000 people in London.

Dr Anjan Ghosh, Bexley’s director of public health, told members that although rates of diagnosis in people aged over 65 were rising, no deaths of local residents had been recorded in the second wave yet.

However, he reiterated a prediction he made last month, saying that “mid-November onwards” would see a significant increase in people requiring medical attention, more than it already has.

It came as councillors pressed for more specific information on what rocketing rates of infection across the city meant for their area.

Council leader Teresa O’Neill said there was not enough detail on whether people being admitted to hospital were being admitted “primarily” due to Covid-19, or whether it was other causes.