Wakefield's director of public health predicts 'beginning of the end' for Covid disruption

Restrictions were reintroduced before Christmas in a bid to stem the tide of Covid infections.

Anna Hartley said future variants of the virus would "hopefully be milder", making it easier for people to live alongside it.

Covid cases in Wakefield are now falling steeply after an enormous rise over Christmas and New Year to record levels, fuelled by the Omicron variant.

Latest figures suggest cases are hovering around 1,188 cases per 100,000.

The self-isolation period for people testing positive has now been cut again to five days.

Omicron has proved to less serious than the Delta variant, however, with hospital admissions and deaths relatively low compared to the number of positive cases.

Speaking on a Wakefield Council Q&A session over Facebook on Tuesday, Ms Hartley said: "I think we have to be realistic and say we're likely to see other variants coming through.

"Hopefully those variants will be milder. I think next winter we'll see some issues around whatever the son and daughter of Omicron is.

"However, I think we've learned a lot in two years and I feel like we are in a strong place to keep things as normal as possible.

Anna Hartley, Wakefield's director of Public Health

"I don't want to say we're at the end, but I hope we're at the beginning of the end, in terms of disruption."

Temprorary restrictions introduced before Christmas, which include directions to work from home and vaccine passes to go to sports events and gigs, are due to be reviewed next Wednesday, January 26.

National media has speculated that they are likely to be lifted, rather than extended.

Local Democracy Reporting Service