Mosque to host community jab centre
A BURTON mosque will be the venue for a community vaccination centre in a bid to encourage more people to get the covid jab.
The Central Jamia Mosque Rizvia, in Uxbridge Street will be hosting the event from the Pakistani Community Centre next door to the mosque on Friday, March 5, between 2pm and 4pm.
The service will be available to those who have pre-booked a vaccination and meet the criteria for the priority list between groups one and six.
Eligible people will include:
■■Residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
■■Frontline health and social care workers
■■All those 65 years of age and over
■■Adults who have received a letter from the NHS notifying them that they are clinically extremely vulnerable
■■People aged over 16 in clinical risk groups
Take up is strictly by booking only. Eligible people in these communities are being urged to call Staffordshire County Council on 0300 111 8050 to book their vaccine appointment.
Appointments must be booked in advance and phonelines will be open on Monday and Tuesday, March 1 and March 2 only. The cut-off for bookings will be 5pm on Tuesday, March 2. No walk-ins will be allowed.
Previously the mosque was used a testing station venue in a bid to encourage the community in Burton to get tested for Covid-19 after an outbreak of the virus in the town, The testing station was deemed to be successful and again the mosque is hoping for as many people as possible to take advantage of this service.
Tariq Hussain, spokesman for the mosque said: “I am pleased to say that following discussions between our mosque’s senior executive team and the chairs of the clinical commissioning group they have been able to bring the vaccination programme to our door step.
“This allows our community the opportunity to get vaccinated sooner.
“The priority is groups 1-4, which means getting the over 65s vaccinated. We are also working on getting those vaccinated who are over 18 but have health conditions, and once that is confirmed we will inform the public.
“I would encourage everyone who is eligible to take advantage of this opportunity and get themselves vaccinated.
“Please get yourselves vaccinated. It is safe and will give you protection from serious illness and prevent the virus from spreading.”
EAST Staffordshire has recorded fewer daily coronavirus cases than South Derbyshire or North West Leicestershire in a promising hint that the borough may finally be turning the corner in beating the virus.
A total of 32 people have been diagnosed with the virus in the borough, which includes Burton, in the latest 24-hour period.
In comparison, South Derbyshire recorded a rise of 42 cases, and North West Leicestershire saw another 39 test positive in the same period.
East Staffordshire may have recorded fewer cases than its near neighbours in Derbyshire and Leicestershire, but the area does have high number of cases when compared to other parts of Staffordshire.
The latest figures for the whole of Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire have been made available on the government website.
They cover the period from 4pm on Wednesday, February 24, to 4pm on Thursday, February 25.
In East Staffordshire a total of 8,941 people have had confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic – a rise of 32 in the last 24 hours.
There has been one new death announced in the borough, so the total stands at 392 since the pandemic began. The population of the borough is around 119,754.
A total of 157 new cases were recorded across Staffordshire as a whole, including those in East Staffordshire.
That means 56,308 people have tested positive in the county as a whole since the start of the pandemic.
In total, four more people have died across the county, meaning 2,242 deaths have been recorded in Staffordshire. All cases were within 28 days of people testing positive for the virus.
In South Derbyshire there have been 42 new cases, with the total since the start of the pandemic now standing at 6,753.
There has been two new deaths, and the total number rises to 216. The district’s population is around 107,261.
In Derbyshire as a whole, there have been 45,925 cases, 174 of which have been registered in the latest 24-hour period analysed. These figures include the South Derbyshire cases.
Across the county, where the population is around 802,694, 1,770 people have died from the virus since February, last year. That is a rise of eight.
In North West Leicestershire there have now been 5,470 cases since the start of the pandemic, including 39 new cases.
A total of 200 people have died within 28 days of testing positive, with two new deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.
A total of 40,985 cases have been recorded in Leicestershire as a whole during the pandemic, with 183 new cases. The population is around 706,155.
There have been 10 new deaths in the county recorded, meaning 1,259 have now died within 28 days of testing positive.
Across the UK as of 4pm yesterday, there were 8,523 new cases reported, down 16.8 per cent from last week, and there had been 345 more deaths, down 31.3 per cent from last week.