The Horsington Blog

Here are the latest Government Statistcs for the South Somerset area, updated to 4 pm 16 January (Local Stats are up to 11 January, the latest available)

Confirmed cases

There were 48 new people with a confirmed positive test result reported on 16 January 2021. (6 January:72)

Total number of people who have had a confirmed positive test result as of 16 January 2021 was 3,646.(6 January: 3021

 Deaths

There was 1 new death within 28 days of a positive test for Coronavirus reported on 16 January 2021.(6 January:2)

Total number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for Coronavirus as of 15 January 2021 was 113.(5 January:101)

Closer to home:

Positive Covid tests in Wincanton, Cheriton, Charlton Horethorne (includes Horsington Marsh): 7 Days to 11 January: 18 (2 January:20)

Templecombe, Henstridge, Milborne Port (Includes Horsington Village):7 days to 11 January: 16 (2 January:16).

Yeovil Hospital: on  16 January 7 January there were 60 patients in  hospital (7 January :42) of which 7 were on ventilation (7 January :5).

Vaccinations

Milbore Port surgery reports vis facebook :

The official media release from Somerset CCG finally permits us to share the good news with you.

Yesterday a team from Milborne Port Surgery joined colleagues from our Primary Care Network practices and a host of wonderful volunteers to start vaccinating our patients at Wincanton Community Hospital.

We were excited to welcome 239 of our patients from Priority Group 2 (those aged 80 and older and some frontline health and social care workers). We also helped to vaccinate a further 76 patients from Wincanton Health Centre in the evening.

Further clinics are planned for this weekend and next week so please do not worry if you have not been called yet.

Please don’t call the surgery to enquire about booking because we need all our lines free to be able to help you!

Housebound patients will be vaccinated at home in due course.

Thank you again for your patience as we undertake this huge vaccination campaign.

To check our local Coronaviris status, click here

Here are the latest Government Coronavirus figures for our area. The picture is mixed, with more cases, but fewer hospitalisations and deaths. Possible grounds for optimism? We hope so, but we remain in the hands of the Government for lockdown status and vaccinations.

Winterborne Longjohns, The Blog’s racing correspondent, who lives in London, has already had 2 vaccinations. But the Somerset NHS website Here merely says that vaccinations will be rolled out “in the coming weeks”, and requests people not to contact their GPs, and to wait for notification.

 Confirmed cases South Somerset

A confirmed case is where a person has had a positive test result for Coronavirus.

There were 72 new people with a confirmed positive test result reported on 6 January 2021. (30 December: 58)

Total number of people who have had a confirmed positive test result as of 6 January 2021 was 3,021. (30 December 2574)

An interesting side statistic is that more people in the under 60 age group are becoming infected than their older peers. Is this because the older group is staying at home, not socialising and respecting the rules? or is it just luck? Or lack of it.

 Deaths – South Somerset

There were 2 new deaths within 28 days of a positive test for Coronavirus reported on 6 January 2021. (30 December:6)

Total number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for Coronavirus as of 5 January 2021 was 101. (29 December:86)

Closer to home:

Positive Covid tests in Wincanton, Cheriton, Charlton Horethorne (includes Horsington Marsh): 7 Days to 2 January: 20 ( 24 December:6)

Templecombe, Henstridge, Milborne Port (Includes Horsington Village):7 days to 2 January: 16 ( 24 Dec:11).

Yeovil Hospital: on  7 January there were 42 patients in  hospital ( 30 December:66) of which 5 were on ventilation (30 Dec:5).

Stay safe, everyone.

St John the Baptist, Horsington, has suspended services for the duration, but you can join virtual serices and prayers on Zoom. See below.

On Wednesdays there’s Bible study on the book of Daniel – you know- the guy who was thrown into a li0ns’ den (and escaped), and who also advised Belshazzar on graffiti removal at his famous feast. One of the more interesting books of the O.T.

Sundays 10am: Service via Zoom
ID: 195 548 436, Password: 740915
Wednesdays 2.30pm: Bible Study on the book of
Daniel via Zoom
ID 442 929 840. Password: 007292
Saturdays 10am: Home Group via Zoom
ID 796 392 12228, Password: 741430
Every Day except Sunday 5.30pm Evening Prayer
ID 442 929 840. Password: 007292

The writing is on the wall

Somerset is now in Tier 4 lockdown, along with three quarters of the rest of the country.

The rules are similar to the last national lockdown

• Pubs, bars and restaurants can only serve takeaway
• Hotels must close their doors 
• Indoor gyms and leisure centres must close
• No shooting or golf
• Personal care services and non-essential retail must close
• People living in Tier 4 cannot bubble with other households
• Residents should stay at home as much as possible
• Residents should not enter or leave Tier 4 areas unless for essential reasons
• Residents from Tier 4 areas should not stay overnight in other areas
• They cannot go abroad apart from “limited exceptions” such as work
• People should work from home if they can
• Communal worship may continue 
• Weddings and civil partnerships can only take place in exceptional circumstances, with a limit of six attendees.

Here is the official Government communique for South Somerset District:

 Confirmed cases

A confirmed case is where a person has had a positive test result for Coronavirus.

There were 58 new people with a confirmed positive test result reported on 30 December 2020.(December 22: 55)

Total number of people who have had a confirmed positive test result as of 30 December 2020 was 2,574. (December 22: 2182)

Deaths 

There were 6 new deaths within 28 days of a positive test for Coronavirus reported on 30 December 2020. (22 December: None)

Total number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for Coronavirus as of 29 December 2020 was 86. (21 December: 77).

Positive Covid tests in Wincanton, Cheriton, Charlton Horethorne (includes Horsington Marsh):  17 December:17, 24 December :14

Templecombe, Henstridge, Milborne Port (Included Horsington Village):17 December: 6, 24 Dec:11.

Yeovil Hospital: On 30 December There were 7 new cases , and  66 patients (22 Dec:60), of whom 5 are on ventilation. 22Dec: 3).

Happy New year everyone. Things can only get better (or not).-Ed

Most of you will already know this. Horsington and its surrounding villages despite recording a modest downward blip in Coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, have all been designated Tier 3 from Boxing Day onwards. The designation applies to the whole of Somerset

This means that you are subject to Tier 3 rules, even if you venture into Tier 2 (for example Bath). So you are not allowed in pubs or reataurants outside your own area. Full details HERE.

This is a severe blow, but not unexpected.. As we said in our last post, be vigilant, behave appropriately.

Or you can wash it all away and join the Marsh Wine Club (by emailing the editor – editor at idnet.com)

Common sense says remain vigilant and behave appropriately. Here is the latest official report from the UK Government issued at 4pmn, 22 December 2020 for South Somerset

A confirmed case is where a person has had a positive test result for Coronavirus.

There were 55 new people with a confirmed positive test result reported on 22 December 2020.( 13 December:42)

Total number of people who have had a confirmed positive test result as of 22 December 2020 was 2,182.( 13 December:1,855)

There were no new deaths within 28 days of a positive test for Coronavirus reported on 22 December 2020. (13 December: No new deaths)

Total number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for Coronavirus as of 21 December 2020 was 77. (12 December:65)

The last Blog report on 14 December was 24 positive tests and a rate of 304 per 100k

The last Blog report on 14 December was 12 positive tests and a rate of 108 per 100k

Yeovil Hospital reported on 22 December: There are currently 60 patients in hospital with Covid, of which 3 are on ventilation

Further afield, there are reports of increased cases in the Taunton and West Somerset area, and also in Plymouth .

Happy Christmas, and mind how you go!

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The news that King Arthurs school decided to close last week was most concerning, and rumours (unverified) of cases as close to home as South Cheriton indicated that the Covid 19 epidemic is spreading its tentacles into our rural area.

The Government’s own website is the place to go for correct facts and stats, and here is the local picture up to Tuesday 8 December, the latest figures available. Regional stats are up to 13 December.

Wincanton, Cheriton and Charlon Horethorne (includes Horsington Marsh): This group is above above the national average, recording 24 new cases in the week prior to 8 December

Templecombe, Henstridge and Milborne Port (includes Horsington village): This group recorded a lower increase, with 12 new cases, but well above the average for England.

The number of people who tested positive in South Somerset District local authority rose by 7.7%, compared to a 14 % rise for the previous week

…And the number of deaths also rose

We do not know if these deaths include people who died in an unrelated incident (e.g. a road accident) or were already seriously ill from another disease.

Perversely, the statistics do not give us hospital admissions for the South Somerset area, but only those for the south west as a whole. The number of admissions in the South west is down by a small percentage for the week ending 8 December, but went up marginally in South Somerset in the last 5 days (see Govt report below)

Report on South Somerset Covid situation issued by HM Government on 12 December 2020

These show hospital admissions Rising across the area, which also includes Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

A confirmed case is where a person has had a positive test result for Coronavirus.

There were 42 new people with a confirmed positive test result reported on 13 December 2020.

 Confirmed cases

Total number of people who have had a confirmed positive test result as of 13 December 2020 was 1,855.

 Deaths

Sadly, many people have died.

There were no new deaths within 28 days of a positive test for Coronavirus reported on 13 December 2020.

Total number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for Coronavirus as of 12 December 2020 was 65.

Other News

Yeovil Hospital announced that anti covid vaccinations will start this week. People have been told not to get in touch, as groups will be prioritised and people will be contacted when it is their turn to receive a vaccination.

Meanwhile, the restictions on what you can and can’t do remain onerous. You can remind yourself of what they are here:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-2-high-alert#meeting-family-and-friends

To get official updates on our local Covid situation click on the link below. You can enter your postcode for a more precise picture.https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/?fbclid=IwAR2L5cMgBBI21bj0-RZN4SM4VySIaq7StSsN1b1Xh1NNYqdTzvwU-bAV6a4

Have you needed a test and been refused? Tell us: editor@idnet.com

Polly Bristol, (Nee Erskine) was born and lived in Cheriton House. She’s a regular blog reader, though she no longer lives in the village. Is she the Blog’s answer to Pam Ayres? -Ed

‘ While shepherds watched their flocks by night All seated on the ground ‘We had a secret party
As the police were not around.

‘ God rest ye merry gentlemen
Yet nothing you dismay ‘
We are off to wine and dine and drink
Until Christmas Day.

‘ Angels from the Realms of Glory ‘
Send us music we can dance to
Whilst we flout the great ‘ lockdown ‘
‘ Tis the season to be merry
Kindly pass a glass of sherry,
We can sit and watch  ‘ The Crown ‘

‘ Away in a manger ..’
I’ve simply passed out!
It must be because of the rules that I flout.
Enough of Pandemics and Covid and ills
Of face masks and ‘ distance ‘ and millions of pills.
We live in the hope that we see Twenty One And last year has just been ‘ illegal fun ‘

Come on readers. Let’s have some more Christmas contributions -Ed

Up to£3,500 available per connection in grants

We have been here before, but Wessex Internet have raised the possibility of a fibre broadband connection to Horsington Marsh which promises a sizzling 1 Gb/s connection, several orders of magnitude greater than the pathetic 1.7Mb/s we currently enjoy down on the Marsh

There’s Government money for it too. The Rural Gigabit Connectivity Voucher (RGCV) Scheme was announced in May last year and allows small/medium enterprises to claim a £3,500 (ex VAT) voucher and residents to claim a £1,500 (inc VAT) voucher towards a 1Gb/s capable connection.

Our area is currently with Wessex Internet’s surveying team to review and determine what sign up is required for full fibre to be extended to us. Once rhey have an idea of the likely demand they will then submit the area to the government for approval of RGCV’s.

If you want some of this, you MUST REGISTER with Wessex Internet . There is no obligation. Please register here: https://www.wessexinternet.com/iwantfullfibre/