MAYOR HITS OUT AT DECISION, PLUS ALL OTHER REACTION
MAYOR SAYS LOCAL HEALTH EXPERTS SHOULD BE LEFT TO TACKLE CITY INFECTION RATES
THE government has been accused of hampering efforts to tackle coronavirus in Leicester after announcing it will go into the highest tier of restrictions next week.
Leicester’s mayor Sir Peter Soulsby urged the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to “get out of the way” and let the city council’s public health teams take control of bringing infections down.
Sir Peter renewed his call for local experts to be allowed to run the test and trace system and said while the DHSC had provided thousands of rapid lateral flow test kits to roll out mass testing, it had not yet sent vital barcodes that allow them to be used.
Sir Peter said: “While Tier 3 was sadly inevitable, we have been hampered in driving the figures down by the time it takes NHS Test and Trace to pass us the names of those they’ve been unable to contact.
“We’re also still waiting for all the kit we need to start rolling out the lateral flow testing programme.
“We had planned to take test kits door-to-door in the areas of the city where the virus is most prevalent.
“We did this in the summer when we went into local lockdown and it worked. We think it will work again.
“However, the government has said they can only be used on people who go to test centres.
“We need them to get out of the way and let us use our local knowledge and expertise.”
Sir Peter said infection levels were falling, but were still too high.
He said: “People in Leicester have lived with these restrictions for so long, and I thank them for it, but I would urge everyone in the city to stay strong and keep going.
“The government has said it will review Leicester’s position in two weeks, so if we are able to get the rate down in the next fortnight, we could move out of Tier 3 before Christmas – and that would be good news for all of us.”
In Parliament yesterday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock thanked a number of political leaders in other areas that have had high infection rates, including Liverpool and Teesside. He praised them for the constructive way they had worked with the government – but he did not mention Sir Peter or Leicester.
The city’s infection rate has fallen from 530 per 100,000 earlier this month to 415 per 100,000 in the seven days to 20 November.
However, it remains nearly twice the national average of 209.2.
Nearly 1,500 people tested positive for coronavirus in the seven days to November 20.
City director of public health Professor Ivan Browne said: “Although Leicester’s figures are slowly moving in the right direction, the infection rate here is still far too high.
“Overall numbers are coming down, but we remain very concerned about the infection rate in Leicester – particularly the level of infections in people aged 60 and over, who are more likely to have a serious disease.
“This is no time for complacency – and no-one must think the development of a vaccine means they can be less vigilant.
“I’d like to thank all of those who have respected these restrictions for so long, but we simply have to continue to follow the rules if we are to succeed in reducing the spread of this highly contagious virus over the winter months.”
A DHSC spokesman said: “NHS Test and Trace is breaking chains of transmission thanks to local and national teams working closely together – more than 2.7 million people who may otherwise have unknowingly spread coronavirus have been contacted and told to isolate.
“Logistics teams are working closely with local authorities to deliver the lateral flow tests as soon as possible.
“We understand how difficult the current restrictions have been and would like to thank everyone for playing their part in following the guidance to curb the spread of the virus.”