Region’s young people and businesses hit hardest in UK Mutant South Africa strain found in Birmingham

WEST Midlands businesses have been hit harder by the coronavirus crisis than anywhere in the UK, with young people bearing the brunt of the economic turmoil, according to a report.

The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) highlighted the huge strain that the pandemic had placed on the region’s employers, employees and jobs market.

There has been a dramatic drop in the number of 15 to 24-year-olds in work since the pandemic took hold last March.

Between then and October, youth unemployment in the region almost doubled from 4.7 per cent to 9.1 per cent.

Ed Watson, the LEP’s interim chief executive said: “The West Midlands – having been the fastest growing regional economy in the country – has been the worst hit of all the regions as a result of Covid. And there are indicators particularly relating to unemployment and youth unemployment that they are particularly bad.”

He also admitted that lays-offs would rise once government support packages came to an end in the spring.

“The concern is we will see a significant jump in unemployment and business failure across the region.”

Against this backdrop he said it was “critical” for organisations like the LEP to provide support and attempt to offset the impact of multiple lockdowns and the financial damage that has been done across a range of sectors.

The likes of the Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme are currently scheduled to finish at the end of April.

The original cut-off would have been October, but ministers were forced to agree to a last minute extension once it became clear that a second wave would cause further upheaval and the return of many of the toughest restrictions – including the compulsory closure of certain businesses.

Many argue that the deadline should be extended yet again, until later in the year, given that full lockdown is expected to continue until at least March 8 and many firms may be unable to reopen until a month or two beyond this.

THE mutant South African variant of Covid-19 has been detected in Birmingham, affecting two members of the same extended family.

Neither of those affected have been abroad recently, meaning they have caught the infection locally.

The two community cases have been confirmed in the Frankley Great Park area of the city.

Mass testing was starting on Wednesday on Longbridge Business Park, with more venues to open later this week.

More than 10,000 adults living locally will be asked to undergo urgent testing in a bid to check if there are more cases of the highly infectious variant and isolate anyone affected.

Birmingham’s Director of Public Health, Dr Justin Varney, said the infected people are part of an extended family living in neighbouring homes, who tested positive for coronavirus early in January.

However, it was not until Friday last week that random tests revealed their infections were of the South African variant, with further checks since to try to work out how they caught it, he said.

All adults over 18 living or working locally are urged to get a full Covid test.

Cases had previously been detected in Walsall WS2 7 postcodes, triggering urgent mass testing and orders for people to ‘‘stay home’’ from Health Secretary Matt Hancock to try to curb further infection.

In another development it as emerged that military and medical students could be stepping in to man some hospital wards after staff sickness jumped fourfold in three weeks, it has been revealed.

The call for more carers comes as nearly two thirds of hospital beds in Sandwell and West Birmingham are now occupied by Covid patients.

Dr David Carruthers, SWBH’s Medical Director, warned in a report to the trust’s board: “Sickness, both Covid and non-Covid, has increased within the nursing workforce and it has been difficult to maintain the usual staffing ratios of one to six or eight across the inpatient areas.”

The growing numbers reporting ill comes as 427 coronavirus patients were treated during January, taking up almost 60 per cent of general beds.

Health bosses have increased intensive care capacity but admit this is adding to pressures on staff.

Workers from within the hospitals have been retrained and redeployed to cover intensive therapy units, while PPE protection in ‘amber’ areas has been ramped up to prevent nurses and doctors from becoming ill. In his report to the board, Dr Carruthers continued: “This is based on our current risk assessment, high staff sickness (nine per cent) with a fourfold increase in staff sickness due to Covid in the last three weeks adding to the huge staffing pressures on the wards.”

Third year student nurses are expected to begin work this month at the Sandwell General and City hospitals’ sites.

The medical director added: “We have 26 paramedic students joining the organisation for 12 week placement from February.

“Forty-five medical students applied to work with the trust, and we are currently progressing recruitment of these staff. We are working to progress deployment of military personnel as runners to support our inpatient wards.”