OXFORDSHIRE residents will be told to stock up on medicines and get the flu jab this winter as the UK copes with the ‘rising tide’ of coronavirus.

The message is due to be rolled out this month after the county’s top public health official warned it is only a matter of time before a high Covid case rate spreads from young people to older age groups.

Public health director Ansaf Azhar had warned earlier this week that the number of Covid cases in Oxford was nearing 50 per 100,000 people, edging the city closer to a local lockdown.

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At a meeting of the county’s Health and Wellbeing Board on Thursday, which brings together councils and health officials, he warned: "We are battling a rising tide situation.

"The national picture is this is going to spread, and things are going to get a lot worse before it gets better."

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Ansaf Azhar. Picture: Oxfordshire County Council

To help the NHS cope with this rising tide, Oxfordshire’s health authorities and councils are now working together on a winter plan.

A county-wide winter strategy is written every year, but this one includes a public-facing campaign telling people: "This year it is more important than ever for everyone to have a winter plan."

As part of this, Oxfordshire residents will be advised to stock up on essential medicines from the supermarket or pharmacy.

There will also be campaign videos urging people to get a winter flu jab.

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As well as promoting self-care and the flu jab, health services are also preparing ways of helping people to get medical appointments from their own home using the 111 service.

But at the same time, there are plans to encourage people to come forward in the early stages of illnesses to see doctors, so preventative steps can be taken.

Last week, the Government’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty relayed a similar message, as he said some doctors were worried that people with the early stages of serious illnesses, such as cancer, might be avoiding hospitals because of Covid and the added pressure it has brought to the health service.

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File photo of someone have a Flu jab. Picture: David Cheskin/PA Wire.

From December onwards, there are plans for a campaign across Oxfordshire to encourage people to check on neighbours who might be isolated, to try to stop a build up of mental health problems.

There is also a strategy to try and help people known as ‘high-intensity users’: those who call 999, 111 or go to their doctors very often, sometimes without a visible need.

The strategy does not dismiss these people, but aims to help them from their own homes through a ‘supportive plan’.

Ahead of the new measures being rolled out, Mr Azhar presented a picture of how Oxfordshire was currently coping in the fight against coronavirus.

Read again about the rising rates of coronavirus in Oxford

The whole county is currently under ‘yellow alert’, which means that less than 20 people per 100,000 have tested positive with the infection.

But Mr Azhar said this ‘masks’ the higher rate in Oxford.

He said: “Taking everything into account we know the infection and the spread of the infection is fairly contained among young people. We know the outbreak [at Oxford Brookes University] has a part to play in this.”

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An image of students partying at Oxford Brookes accommodation last month.

He added: "The preventative messaging in terms of following the rules is going to be important. It is critical we take the preventative measures seriously."

But the public health director warned that the high rate of coronavirus infections was likely to spread from younger people at some point soon.

He said: “We have got a situation where it is fairly contained and if we follow the message now we will be able to minimise the spread to the other age groups and vulnerable communities.

“When that starts to happen, we will start to see hospital admissions and, unfortunately, deaths.”

Mr Azhar also said that testing for coronavirus was improving, with local capacity increasing, and added that he had negotiated with the Department of Health and Social Care for extra testing kits to manage the Oxford Brookes outbreak.

But he added the ‘end game’ for the virus was not likely to be just around the corner, but that the next six months until spring would likely be difficult.

Mr Azhar added there was a ‘balancing act’ to play between controlling the virus and supporting the economy in coming months as the virus receded gradually after spring.