A VAST amount of data has been gathered since the pandemic began last year.

It is now a whole year since the first case of Covid was recorded in Oxford, on March 2, 2020 (though there was one case in the county before this according to Government data).

In the two graphs below, the rise and fall of case rates in the county is charted.

This is an interactive graphic. Select a district council to see the trend in cases - you can mix and match to see as many as you'd like in one screen.

This graph shows the number of Covid cases in the different council districts of Oxfordshire each day between the start of the pandemic and the end of February 2021.

The graph plots out a line for each of the five district council areas of Oxfordshire: Oxford, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, West Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse.

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As can be seen on the graph, throughout the first lockdown in March and April 2020, there was not the testing capacity to record cases in the same way as more recently.

But throughout December until now, the case numbers roughly follow the national trajectory.

Cherwell and Oxford have recorded a higher number of cases than other areas, attributed to densely populated urban areas in the city and Banbury.

Covid cases across the whole county

This graph plots all of the recorded Covid cases in Oxfordshire across the last year in one line.

The rise and fall in cases follows the same trajectory as within each of the individual districts of Oxfordshire, and also follows the tightening and easing of restrictions.

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Covid case numbers in Oxfordshire can be seen to rise through September into November, before dropping off with the one-month lockdown.

They then rise again to a spike over Christmas, before dropping in the new year after the current lockdown was introduced.

The current situation in hospitals

As of last Tuesday, Oxford University Hospitals Trust was caring for 81 coronavirus patients. 

NHS England data shows the number of people being treated in hospital for Covid-19 by 8am on February 23 was down from 127 on the same day the previous week.

The number of beds at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust occupied by people who tested positive for Covid-19 decreased by 70% in the last four weeks – 28 days ago, there were 268.

Across England there were 13,511 people in hospital with Covid as of February 23, with 1,956 of them in mechanical ventilation beds.

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The number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised nationally has decreased by 58% in the last four weeks, while the number on mechanical ventilators has decreased by 46%.

The figures also show that 76 new Covid patients were admitted to hospital in Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the week to February 21. This was down from 104 in the previous seven days.

How the pandemic has hit Oxford University Hospitals

Last year, thousands of operations at hospitals across Oxfordshire were cancelled during the two national lockdowns because of the pandemic.

Covid-19 patients filled the beds at the county’s four major hospitals governed by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The Oxford Mail has now revealed that 5,655 elective and emergency procedures were pushed back between March 21 and July 4, and October 31 and December 2 at the John Radcliffe, the Churchill, the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and the Horton General hospitals.

Nearly 1,500 emergency and 2,675 elective operations were cancelled at the John Radcliffe during the two lockdowns.

The Churchill Hospital, which provides cancer services, saw 30 emergency and more than 300 elective procedures suspended because of the pandemic.

While all three other hospitals saw the numbers decline during the second lockdown, Nuffield had its cancelled procedures rise by almost 100 between October and December.

The trust was not able to confirm how many people are currently on the waiting list for hospital treatments, however, the spokesperson said that OUH is in contact with patients affected by postponed procedures.

In January, the trust was again forced to postpone all routine inpatient and day case elective surgery as it dealt with pressures on beds on wards and in intensive care, and operating theatres.

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