Taxi drivers praised for giving free lifts to jabs
FIRMS MEETING THE COST OF
CABBIES have been ferrying hundreds of people to and from a coronavirus vaccination centre free of charge in recent weeks.
The drivers taking people to and from the centre in Measham were publicly thanked this week for their efforts to help people get vaccinated.
North West Leicestershire District Council leader Richard Blunt said: “The vaccination centre in Measham is working seven days a week so as many people as possible can get the treatment locally.
“I recognise the site is not very easily accessible for everyone.
“I’d like to pay tribute to our volunteers and in particular our taxi drivers who have been supporting people to get to their appointments, especially in recent bad weather.
“Some of the taxi drivers have not been charging people, which is a truly great example of the community pulling together.”
Councillor Michael Wyatt said a return trip from Coalville to Measham cost about £36 and said: “The last thing we want is for people not to get their jabs because they can’t afford to get there.
“The cab firms are going above and beyond.”
Yellow Cabs, in Coalville, has taken more than 500 people to the vaccination centre at Measham leisure centre so far, without a charge.
ROUND TRIP TO VACCINE CENTRE
Boss Dave Underwood said: “When we heard Measham was going to be the local vaccination centre we thought it’s quite a long way from the centre of Coalville – eight or nine miles.
“We are talking about about a trip of potentially £40 to £45 when you include the wait for observation.
“For a lot of elderly people, and others, that is too much. So I thought we could do something to help.
“At our busiest we were taking 30 people or more a day.
“We’ve given a commitment to take people back for their second jabs and we have some booked in for March.”
Dave said he was paying his drivers and absorbing the cost and said: “I don’t really want to think about how much it comes to but I have been doing this for 25 years in the town and I’ve made a good living out of it and so have some of my drivers
“We are lucky we are in a position where we can do this even though it’s the time when we can probably least afford it.
“We’ll keep on doing it because the more people who get vaccinated, the quicker we will be able to get back to something like a normal life.”
THERE is still time for the city to avoid being singled out for more local coronavirus restrictions despite the continuing high rates of infection, says mayor Sir Peter Soulsby.
Leicester has moved up to third place out of 315 English council areas based on seven-day infection levels, which have been stuck stubbornly at just over 250 cases per 100,000 people.
While Leicester’s rates are not rising, other areas have seen drops in their numbers of infections that the city has not been able to emulate.
Only Corby and Peterborough currently have a higher rate of infection.
The government has outlined its timetable which would see social contact restrictions lifted by June 21 – nearly a year after Leicester became the first area in the UK to be placed in local lockdown – with nonessential retail and hospitality reopening sooner.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned high-risk areas could have continued measures imposed if virus rates do not abate and hospital admissions remain high.
Sir Peter said: “Our rate is stubbornly high but I am optimistic.
“There is still time for us to avoid yet more restrictions, but the government has to speed up the vaccination programme.
“Leicester is a city where the threat of Covid remains – for clear reasons. It has densely packed housing, economic deprivation which means people feel they cannot afford to isolate if they are infected.
“So I am entirely convinced the only effective way out is through vaccination.”
Sir Peter said he believed vaccination could be geared up in the city and is writing to Health Secretary Matt Hancock calling for that to happen.
The mayor said: “I am concerned our major vaccination centre, The Peepul Centre, has at times been running at 10 per cent capacity when it should always be 100 per cent.
“There is an issue with vaccine supply and the government is concerned that the spread of vaccinations should be even across the country.
“However it needs to recognise the particular problem in Leicester.
“Between now and when the restrictions are due to be lifted, there is time to up the rate of vaccination and make sure that we are not singled out again for restrictions.”
The latest list of council areas by infection rates, which places the city third out of 315 council areas, is based on verified Public Health England figures in the week up to February 20.
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There is time to avoid yet more restrictions, but the government has to speed up vaccination
Sir Peter
A CEMETERY in Hinckley hit by flooding became a “quagmire” with families struggling to reach the graves of their loved ones, a grieving relative has said.
It is the latest problem that Deborah Haines and her family have encountered since her mum, Mabel, was buried in the extension of Ashby Road Cemetery in October.
A week after the burial, the family was distraught to discover that Mabel’s grave had collapsed into another plot being prepared next to her.
This was quickly repaired but she claims there have been constant issues ever since, with water gathering on top of several graves and streams of water running down the concrete roads within the site.
The graveyard extension close to what is known locally as the Big Pit, a clay pit which is filled with water and is a wildlife haven.
Deborah’s dad visits the grave of his wife, to whom he was married for 60 years, every day.
She said: “I know we have had a lot of rain this winter, but it has got to the point where you can’t access the grave unless you have proper Wellington boots on. You sink in, it’s a quagmire.
“We’re not the only people, we have seen relatives get lengths of cardboard to walk on to get to the graveside.”
She said the family have considered exhuming her mum, and that they would have laid her to rest somewhere else had they known the troubles they would have. is
Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council is responsible for maintaining the burial site.
A spokeswoman said: “Persistent heavy rain on waterlogged ground has resulted in flooding, which has affected a few graves in one particular section of Ashby Road Cemetery.
“We are sorry for any upset that has been caused to those whose loved ones’ graves were affected by this. “Work has been immediately undertaken to repair all graves affected and this has been successfully completed this week.
“To ensure this does not happen again, we are intending to improve the ground drainage and encourage grass root growth, which in turn will lead to better conditions underfoot. “Unfortunately the ground conditions are not suitable to carry out any procedure at the moment and trying to do so could actually have the opposite effect and make the situation worse rather than better as the machine is tractormounted.
“As soon as the ground conditions improve we will carry out works and continue to monitor the area.”
I know we have had a lot of rain this winter, but it has got to the point where you sink in, it’s a quagmire Deborah Haines