Ex-postie’s 500-mile Covid track
Ten weeks on the road delivering ‘life-saving letters’ for trace team
A FORMER postman has been delivering positive Covid-19 results for people who had not responded to messages from test and trace teams.
Mark O’Pray, 42, spent 10 weeks during the pilot project in the city visiting 300 people from Manchester who were unaware of their results.
Working alongside Beswick-based charity 4CT, Mark walked 500 miles to help trace people who the phone teams had been unable to get hold of for their Covid-19 results.
These cases would be passed onto Mark, and others in the team, who set off each day to make visits and talk to the people involved, or leave them a letter with advice on what to do next.
“In some cases people hadn’t picked up their phones because they were feeling unwell,” says Mark, of Manchester.
“For others there were a variety of reasons - but most people were really grateful that we’d gone that extra mile to tell them, so that they definitely self-isolated.”
The calls also involved making sure the person had enough food, medicines and knew where to get help.
“I had one lady who thought she could still go out to work even though she had a positive result,” Mark said.
“So, I explained to her that she couldn’t do that or go to see people but then I was also able to tell her how she could do online food shopping and give her all the extra help she needed.”
The visits took Mark all over the city including to his childhood haunt of Withington and even near to his beloved Manchester City Football ground.
Visits could be multiple if people either weren’t in, or still not responding to the letter he left on behalf of Manchester Test and Trace.
Mark said: “But, I didn’t mind going back and being persistent because it was so important that people didn’t spread the virus.”
“In fact, I think it made people really aware of how serious the virus is.”
“I also think it made people want to have the vaccination because they saw how much the city was trying to look after them.”
Mark said he had been unable to continue his charity work for 4CT at Broadhurst Community Centre while lockdown was in place - and this new role gave him a chance to help battle the virus that had affected his mum.
“I’d not seen my mum for months and she had long Covid. When you know the effects of it all you want to do is make sure no-one else will get it,” he explained.
“And, for me, this took me right back to the start of my career when I was a postman - but now instead of delivering junk mail it was a life-saving letter.”
Councillor Bev Craig, Executive Member for Adult Health and Wellbeing at Manchester City Council, said: “I commend the work of Mark and fellow team members who have all joined in this work in such a dedicated way.
“This project is just one of the many examples of Manchester’s approach in fighting the virus and supporting local communities.”