We’re as prepared as we can be, vows Burnham

MAYOR ISSUES RALLYING CRY AMID FEARS OF A ‘TSUNAMI’ OF CASES

ANDY Burnham says Greater Manchester ‘is as prepared as it can be’ for London levels of coronavirus cases in the next fortnight - as the capital’s hospital chiefs warned a ‘tsunami’ of cases threatened to overwhelm their system within days.

The region is thought to be around two weeks behind the numbers recorded in London, which accounts for a quarter of deaths in Britain so far.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of representative body NHS Providers, said a ‘wicked combination’ of staff sickness and soaring demand meant the capital’s system was facing a ‘continuous tsunami’ of cases, with extra capacity being used up ‘very, very quickly.’

Estimates only put the rest of the country weeks or even days behind London, however, and the mayor of Greater Manchester moved to reassure the public that ‘everything possible’ was being done to ensure the local system was prepared.

But he also reiterated that businesses ‘must not make things more challenging than we should do’ by opening when they shouldn’t.

“I think it is generally accepted that we are about ten days, two weeks behind London,” he said when asked by the M.E.N. whether the region will be able to cope with a similar scenario.

“We’ve seen an increase in cases over the last couple of days.”

He added that work was underway to discharge people from hospital where it is safe to do so, in order to increase capacity, but that this was ‘in readiness of what is to come.’

“I’m very confident in the colleagues who are working to plan the capacity needs across the system and we will have to obviously keep a very, very close eye on this day by day,” he said.

“I am confident that the Greater Manchester NHS is as prepared as it could be, but it’s why I come back to the point about not making things more challenging than we should do - and that is to reiterate this point about nonessential work ceasing right now, because we should not be creating new cases of coronavirus when really there is really no justification for that happening.”

He was speaking as politicians locally - and in London - warned construction sites and many warehouses should shut in order to protect their workers and the wider public, with many in Greater Manchester and elsewhere still insisting on remaining open.

Mr Burnham said he was ‘very much in support’ of the position taken by

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, who has clashed with the government over construction and other workers not being advised to stay at home.

Earlier this week, the M.E.N. revealed that the Manchester convention complex could be used as a field hospital akin to the new Nightingale hospital at

London’s ExCel - and the Greater Manchester mayor confirmed the region was ‘looking at every possible contingency’ to find extra capacity, including putting forward potential sites.

“It’s a big challenge for everybody and we are doing everything that we can,” he said.