Is North Staffordshire passing four tests for the final step out of lockdown?
Sign up to our newsletter Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  The Government is soon set to announce if the tests have been met for the final easing of lockdown restrictions. Social distancing rules are currently scheduled to be completely lifted on June 21, allowing nightclubs to reopen and social gatherings to go ahead without any restrictions. But there are growing concerns that the recent rise in Covid-19 cases  driven by the highly infectious Delta variant  could scupper these plans. The Association of Directors of Public Health has called for step four of the roadmap out of lockdown to be delayed, saying pressing ahead now could risk an increase in hospital admissions. Boris Johnson is set to announced on Monday whether step four will go ahead as planned on June 21. The Prime Minister has previously set four tests  relating to the vaccination programme, hospitalisations and deaths, infection rates and new variants  for determining whether the final restrictions can be lifted. TEST 1: The vaccine deployment programme continues successfully  Up to June 6, a total of 1.26 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been issued across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. This figure includes 715,140 first doses and 541,292 second doses. First dose uptake is more than 90 per cent for each age group from 50 to 54, although among 30 to 34-year-olds it is still only 63.7 per cent. The national vaccine programme was extended to the over-25s this week, while in Leek, the local NHS has been offering jabs to all over-18s as part of the efforts to tackle the Delta variant outbreak there. TEST 2: Evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated  As of June 8, there were seven Covid-positive patients occupying beds at University Hospitals of North Midlands, including one in a mechanically-ventilated bed. This is a slight increase on the three Covid in-patients at the trust had on May 29, but still very low compared to the levels seen during the most recent wave. Over the past two months, UHNM has not had more than three Covid patients admitted from the community on any given day, with some days going by without a single admission. The number of Covid-19 deaths remains very low in North Staffordshire. Since the start of May, only one death involving coronavirus has been recorded in Stoke-on-Trent, according to ONS figures. TEST 3: Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS  The Delta variant outbreak in Leek has been the main factor behind a spike in Covid cases in the Staffordshire Moorlands over the last two weeks, which has left the district with one of the highest infection rates in the Midlands. The Moorlands had a seven-day case rate of 104.6 per 100,000 people for the week up to June 6  up from just 4.1 on May 25. But there are signs that the rise in cases in the district is now starting to level off. And it is important to note that the recent cases have largely involved younger people, who are much less likely to develop serious symptoms, with the 15-to-19 age group seeing by far the most infections. Then sign up to our email newsletter service by clicking here. No problem - you can just follow the unsubscribe link. The seven-day rates in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle remain relatively low, at 23.8 and 22.4 respectively, although these rates are set to rise in the coming days. Elsewhere in the country, increasing infection rates have resulted in increasing hospilisations. But there are currently no figures which show this is happening in North Staffordshire. TEST 4: The assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new variants of concern  The rise in infection in the Moorlands and across the country has been driven almost entirely by the Delta variant, formerly known as the Indian variant, which now accounts for around 90 per cent of cases nationwide. Scientists say Delta is roughly 60 per cent more infectious that the Alpha, or Kent, variant, which was previously the dominant strain in the UK. This means a higher vaccination rate in the community is needed to achieve herd immunity and prevent further outbreaks. Research has shown that two doses of the vaccine is much more effective than just one.