THE spread of Covid 19 is now worst in Bradford's more affluent areas - although there is no clear reason why.

At the start of the Pandemic the highest rates of Covid infection were found in some of the poorest inner city areas of the District.

But at a recent meeting of Bradford Council's Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee public health officials told members that the it was now the less populous, more affluent areas where infection rates were the highest.

One consultant even suggested that most people in some areas of the District have now likely been infected at some point.

Giving the update on Covid in the Bradford District, consultants said that although infections rates were still high, the vaccination programme had helped keep hospitalisations and deaths lower than at the peak of the Pandemic.

Caroline Tomes, Consultant in Public Health in Bradford, said: "In the first six months of the pandemic infections were most widespread in the less affluent areas of the District.

"More recently we've noticed it is the more affluent areas that have the highest levels of infections. We're not sure why this is the case, but this is a pattern that has been noticed across the country."

Councillor Paul Godwin (Lab Keighley West) said: "If 91,000 people have had Covid in the District, that is a little under 20 per cent of the population. How effective will the vaccine be in making sure the other 80 per cent don't get it?"

Duncan Cooper, another Consultant in Public Health, said that due to the delay in rolling out mass testing, the number of people who have likely had Covid in Bradford would be much higher than the 91,000 figure.

He said the Office of National Statistics has suggested that actual infections could be four times higher than official figures, adding: "We say we have had 90,000 cases, but it could be that we've had 360,000 in the District, which would mean most people have probably had it.

"The infection rates in Ilkley were recently around 1,200 (per 100,000 people) so it may well be that nearly everyone there has had it.

"It has spread over 18 months and reached everywhere. We'd have been in real trouble if everyone had it at the same time, but it has spread in different parts of the District at different times."

Cllr Godwin said: "One of the current hot spots in Bradford is Oakworth, but the other day I went into a shop and I was the only person wearing a mask. Infections are higher than they have ever been in Oakworth, and noone seemed to be aware of that. I think that is a dismal failure of public health. Once it was found that masks worked they should have kept them, but now noone seems to have a clue what to do about Covid because of the changing policies."

Mrs Tomes said that local public health officials only found out what the next national Covid policies would be through the news.

She said:" It is not unusual to find out from the news what the new restrictions are. There has been a flip flopping of policy.

"We're trying to help people make the best decisions for their communities.

"The drop off was surprisingly quick from the time everyone was wearing face coverings to them no longer being required. It all changed very quickly. If the situation changes it might be quite challenging to bring mask wearing back again, but we'll continue to inform people the best we can."