MP calls for outside help as Covid-19 cases rise
SITUATION STILL ‘VERY SERIOUS’
HUDDERSFIELD MP Barry Sheerman says outside assistance may be needed to combat rising Covid-19 infection rates in Kirklees.
And he warned that residents could see a return of lockdown restrictions if numbers continue to go up.
Kirklees Council said data has revealed that 29.8 people per 100,000 residents tested positive in the borough in the past week.
That is up from 27.5 people per 100,000 residents the previous week.
The current national rate is 6.4. The West Yorkshire average rate is 18.6.
Earlier this week the number of positive Covid-19 cases reported in Kirklees was 2,011 - up from 1,996.
Of the 72 newly confirmed cases in Yorkshire, 15 were in Kirklees, according to figures released by Public Health England.
Mr Sheerman expressed alarm at the rates and said they illustrated that West Yorkshire and Kirklees were still facing a “very serious and drastic” situation.
And he said the key to tackling the ongoing outbreak was to call on extra expertise.
He likened the current crisis to concerns in 2017 around the council’s Children’s Services, which resulted in Leeds City Council being brought in to provide support.
Mr Sheerman said: “These figures make very uncomfortable reading for people in West Yorkshire.
“We need really strong leadership in West Yorkshire and Kirklees to realise that this is a very big challenge and we have to face it - even if that means reinstating some of the tougher measures that we were using earlier.
“The Government’s policy is that there will be strong reaction and resources placed at the disposal of local authorities that have a particular problem.
“If that’s the case then I hope it’s an injection of a senior manager from outside with extra resources.
“That is what we should have and we should have it now.
“I want to see a management team knowing that this is still a very serious situation and that we have to take appropriate steps to deal with it.
“These are not just stats. These are people dying.”
The council’s strategic director for public health, Rachel Spencer-Henshall, said in a statement on Thursday: “After a steady overall decline, the rate of infection in Kirklees has gone up over the past week and we cannot ignore this.
“This is a powerful warning that now is not the time to become complacent and our fight against Covid-19 is not over.
“In the past few weeks, we’ve acted quickly and decisively to contain outbreaks in local workplaces.
“This kind of action always leads to more tests and positive cases in the short term.
“We will be analysing the data further over the next few days to learn more and if we need to adjust our action, we will do so.”
Kirklees has experienced localised outbreaks in the north of the borough at the Kober Ltd meat factory in Hunsworth, near Cleckheaton, where 165 staff tested positive and at the Dura Beds factory in Batley.
Also in Batley the Fox and Hounds pub was forced to shut its doors 48 hours after re-opening after a customer tested positive for the virus.