Help us keep the lights on Support us
The Bristol Cable

The Bristol Briefing: Bristol ‘once again at critical point in the pandemic’

Cases are still rising sharply and now the small number of Covid patients in hospital is starting to increase.

Coronavirus in Bristol

Bristol Covid weekly update

⚠️ Bristol’s director of public health Christina Gray has said we are “once again at a critical point in the pandemic”. With Covid cases spreading fastest among under-30s, she urged people to get tested and keep washing hands, covering faces and giving others space.

😷 Five neighbourhoods in Bristol are recording some of the highest Covid transmission rates in the country, the latest government data has shown.  The city’s highest infestation rate has been recorded in Cotham where 61 cases were confirmed in the week leading up to 17 June – more than seven times the UK average.  (Source: Bristol Live)

📈 A new walk-in PCR testing site has opened in Bristol Harbour, aimed particularly at young people meeting friends locally. Transmission rates are rising fastest among the under-30s. “Asymptomatic testing is so important in helping our Public Health teams identify infection and enable people to safely self-isolate and cut off chains of transmission,” said Deputy Mayor and Cabinet minister for Communities and Public Health, Asher Craig. 

Get this briefing sent to you every Saturday morning!

😷 There have been 790 new Covid cases in Bristol in the last week, which is 75% higher than the previous week (451).

📈 The rate of Covid in Bristol is 171 per 100,000 people, higher than England’s of 102 per 100,000.

🏥 There are now 10 Covid patients being treated across Bristol’s two NHS trusts as of 22nd June, up from 4 last week.

💉 1st Covid jabs given in Bristol: 281,547  (+16,347) – 66.3 of adults (+3.1%)
💉💉 2nd Covid jabs given in Bristol: 183,667 (+5,292) – 43.3% of adults (+1.1%)

➡️ There have been 0 deaths with Covid in Bristol in the last week (up to 23 June, within 28 days of a positive test).


The Bristol Round-up

✈️ Bristol Airport has been accused of ‘greenwashing’ after announcing it would become the first net zero airport in the UK by 2030. The airport’s net zero commitments covered the airfield, buildings and vehicle fleet, and received praise by Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees. But Mike Bell, the Deputy Leader of North Somerset Council, said: “Talk about greenwashing. Yet at the same time as this photo opp, they want to increase the number of passengers by another four million, with more cars, more parking and more planes. If they withdrew their expansion plans the rhetoric would be more convincing.”

💰 Legal & General has agreed a £350 million development at Temple Island with a large conference centre, hotel, 550 new homes and two office buildings. The site was previously earmarked for the new Bristol Arena, before mayor Marvin Rees overruled councillors by scrapping the plans in favour of building the arena in Filton in 2018. 

 📺  Privatisation plans threaten to “rip out the heart out of Channel 4 – a much-loved broadcaster which has only just set down roots in the West of England”, Metro Mayor Dan Norris has warned. The broadcaster opened its new Creative Hub in Bristol last year. 

🛹 Bristol City Council has come under fire this week for installing 100 metal ‘anti-skate strips’ near the Cenotaph, at a cost of £15,000. Opponents argue that the thin metal strips unfairly target young people and are a hazard for people with mobility issues. Speaking on BBC Radio Bristol, Green Councillor for Central ward Ani Stafford-Townsend expressed disappointment at the decision: “We need to provide space for young people … we need to give them alternatives.”

✊  Unison is calling on Bristol City Council to ensure that care workers at Alexandra Homes receive full pay during Covid-related sickness and self-isolation. Not only is it important to avoid people being penalised if they need to self-isolate, but proper sick pay is important in stopping the spread of the virus, the union argued. 

🥙  The price of school meals is set to rise in six Bristol schools, some of which are in the most deprived areas in the city. The new contract that will ensure contractors can charge a ‘fair market rate’ will save the council £100,000 a year, and will affect schools that have not increased the price of meals since 2013. A report to the ruling cabinet group acknowledged the price rise was likely to have a “disproportionate impact on low-income families.” (Source: Local Democracy Reporting Service). 

🚌  Bristol City Council has tripled the price of temporarily closing bus stops. The move aims to prevent congestion and disruption for residents during roadworks, which are currently often unauthorised or cancelled at short notice by developers. (Source: LDRS)

 🚢 Students in Bristol marked the UK’s fourth Windrush Day this week with artworks recording the stories of Caribbean elders, charting the contributions of West Indian communities in the city. The students presented the Windrush Generations project to local community leaders and UWE alumni. Watch three films produced as part of the project here.

Keep the Lights On

Investigative journalism strengthens democracy – it’s a necessity, not a luxury.

The Cable is Bristol’s independent, investigative newsroom. Owned and steered by more than 2,600 members, we produce award-winning journalism that digs deep into what’s happening in Bristol.

We are on a mission to become sustainable – will you help us get there?

Join now

What makes us different?

Comments

Post a comment

Mark if this comment is from the author of the article

By posting a comment you agree to our Comment Policy.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related content

Racist and traumatising: inside a Section 60 suspicionless stop and search operation

Officers searched innocent children, disproportionately targeted people of colour and undermined their anti-racism reforms during a 48-hour police operation in February. Their narrative that it was an effective knife-crime deterrent, done with consent, is misleading.

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with the BBC’s Pete Simson on the WECA mayoral election, making politics interesting and why snacks matter

Neil talks to Pete Simson, BBC Politics West editor, about the race to become the new mayor of the West of England Combined Authority and whether an upset in the 2025 election is likely after Arron Banks' entry.

Joy as resistance: inside the club night changing Bristol’s queer scene

With violence and political hostility towards trans and queer people on the rise, club night Soft Butch has become a vital space for community, connection, and liberation

Marvin Rees receives payment from energy giant he awarded massive contract to

US firm Ameresco is now a paying client of Lord Rees of Easton, who struck the £1 billion City Leap decarbonisation deal with the firm when he was Bristol’s mayor.

Listen: People Just Do Something, with Palestinian activist Iyad Burnat on the power of nonviolent resistance in the face of genocide

In the first episode of a new season, Isaac talks to Iyad Burnat, head of the Bil'in Popular Committee against the Wall, about the decades he’s spent peacefully resisting Israeli occupation in the West Bank.

What does the arrest of metro mayor and MP Dan Norris mean for his constituents?

The MP for North East Somerset and Hanham was arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences last week. He was immediately suspended from the Labour Party.

Being a Crip is a radicalising experience

With the government’s disability benefits cuts coming into force, communities in Bristol and around the country are resisting under the banner Crips Against Cuts

Join our newsletter

Get the essential stories you won’t find anywhere else

Subscribe to the Cable newsletter to get our weekly round-up direct to your inbox every Saturday

Join our newsletter

Subscribe to the Cable newsletter

Get our latest stories & essential Bristol news
sent to your inbox every Saturday morning