A NORTH EAST health chief said he believes the Euro 2020 final helped “supercharge” infections in the North East.

Mark Adams, joint director of public health for Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, was speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning.

Middlesbrough currently has the highest rate of new cases in England – although it is down sharply week-on-week from 1,421.5 cases per 100,000 people to 695.8. The biggest fall was recorded by Redcar and Cleveland, which is down from 1,520.2 to 668.6.

With the areas to be offered enhanced support by the Government to tackle its case rates, Mr Adams said: “The rates tended to kick off just after the Euros football final – our three highest days were three-to-five days after that final, so I think our momentum was kind of picking up then and that event just supercharged it up to the unfortunate position we found ourselves in.

The Northern Echo: Mark Adams, South Tees joint director of public health covering Middlesbrough and Redcar and ClevelandMark Adams, South Tees joint director of public health covering Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland

“But what we have seen over the last week is our rates have more than halved, and so even though everyone else’s rates are coming down as well, our rates seem to be coming down very quickly.

“So I think areas like Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and places you’ve seen in the North West and further north in the North East, are more susceptible to Covid because of the types of jobs that people do, the inability to work from home – Middlesbrough was cited in the ONS survey of being in the bottom 10 of areas where people are able to work from home.”

Mr Adams said his team was contacting those people who had not yet come forward for their first vaccine jab to encourage them.

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