Nursery closed for week as cases in the county rise
A BURTON nursery will be closed until next week as Staffordshire remains above the national average for new cases of coronavirus.
Staffordshire County Council has revealed that Parrs Playhouse Childcare, in Burton, will be closed until November 23 due to the outbreak and impact on staffing levels.
Also a Staffordshire hotel has been closed for “coronavirus regulation breaches deemed to pose an imminent threat to public health”.
The county council has taken the enforcement action against the Himley Country Hotel, in, Himley, South Staffordshire.
The licensed hotel has been issued legal direction to close for 28 days, starting from midnight on Friday, November 13 until midnight on Thursday, December 10.
According to the council, staff and guests at the School Road hotel failed to wear masks and the level of cleanliness was very poor.
As the second week of lockdown comes to an end, the latest update from Staffordshire County Council has revealed that there were 3,480 new cases of coronavirus across the county in the seven days to November 9.
This means that Staffordshire remains above both the West Midlands and national average seven-day rate. England is 254.5 per 100,000 population, West Midlands is 328.9 and Staffordshire is 395.7.
A spokesman said: “It’s early days for the new national restrictions, and whilst there are signs of some levelling off in the number of cases we are seeing, the next seven days will be crucial and we’ll be able to draw some conclusions as to whether the national restrictions are working for Staffordshire.”
In a weekly bulletin, the council states it is continuing to see a high number of cases in schools across the county, adding that they are now seeing multiple cases across different year groups.
The Burton Mail reported yesterday that Lansdowne Academy is closing for two weeks due to shortages of staff who are self-isolating because of Covid. Schools are being supported by the council’s outbreak control team to safely keep as many children in school as possible.
Care homes are also seeing high numbers of outbreaks and the council is working with them and experts in infection control. A council spokesman said: “Care home teams across the county are doing everything they can to stop the virus spreading, but sadly, we have seen a small number of people pass away this week due to Covid.
“New regional teams are being set up by the Department of Health and Social Care to offer extra support to homes across the West Midlands and we will be working closely with them as they become established.”
Enforcement action is being taken by those who breach the coronavirus regulations, with Staffordshire Police receiving 483 reports last week.