‘Act now to avoid new lockdown’
Warning as Valley becomes Covid hotspot and businesses shut
THE public must take heed of warning signs or face new coronavirus restrictions being imposed on the Valley, a council chief has warned.
That was the message from Rossendale council’s chief executive Neil Shaw after the borough was temporarily ranked the second worst hotspot in England earlier in the week. He said: “This is not something we wanted to see and whilst we’re encouraged that the increase is not caused by community transmission but isolated incidents that have been identified, we have to make sure we halt the spread as soon as possible.
“We want people to be aware of the seriousness of the situation.
“If people want to avoid further restrictions being placed on Rossendale it is essential that everyone follows the guidelines and play their part.”
THE public MUST take heed of warning signs to avoid further coronavirus restrictions being imposed on the Valley, Rossendale council’s top officer has warned.
Chief executive Neil Shaw says the local authority is doing everything it can to stem Covid-19 infections after the borough was temporarily ranked the second worst hotspot in England earlier in the week.
On September 4 the government announced that Rossendale, along with Northampton and Norfolk, would become an “area of enhanced support”, leading to an increased focus on testing or contact tracing.
The Street Food Kitchen & Bar and The Crown Inn, both in Bacup, announced temporary closures on September 4 after customers had tested positive.
That came two days after Tiger Lounge, The Hut - Rossendale Street Food and Tiki Tiger in Rawtenstall, and The Green Squirrel in Haslingden, had closed due to cases in the area.
All have since reopened, with Tiki Tiger announcing it is due to reopen on Friday. Casked Ale House & Ginporium, in Rawtenstall, advised on Wednesday they were due to reopen shortly and to check their Facebook page for updates.
Council leaders said last week that another outbreak was linked to a school out of hours club.
Mr Shaw said: “This is not something we wanted to see and whilst we’re encouraged that the increase is not caused by community transmission but isolated incidents that have been identified, we have to make sure we halt the spread as soon as possible.
“In Rossendale the surge in cases so far can be identified to particular sources so it’s easier to tackle as long as people get tested and follow the guidance on social distancing.”
The mobile testing unit also returned to Rawtenstall’s Marl Pits from Monday.
Mr Shaw added: “The council are taking all the measures we can.
“We have visited all businesses in the borough’s four town centres over the last few days again, giving advice, closely monitoring numbers and bringing the mobile testing unit back to Rossendale so people can get tested – quickly and easily.
“We want people to be aware of the seriousness of the situation.
“If people want to avoid further restrictions being placed on Rossendale it is essential that everyone follows the guidelines and play their part.”
The rolling seven-day rate of new cases of Covid19 saw 52 new cases recorded in Rossendale in the week to September 3 – the equivalent of 72.7 per 100,000 people.
At its highest since early May, the rate - which is reported with a time lag of three days to exclude data inaccuracies - has since dropped to 51.8 up to September 5, but still places the Valley in the ‘red alert’ zone, along with five other areas of Lancashire.
Council leader Alyson Barnes said: “It’s important that people in Rossendale are able to get tested in their own borough.
“Testing people and then tracing the contacts of those infected is a vital tool to help stop the disease from spreading.
“Anyone showing symptoms of coronavirus should go and get tested straight away and isolate until they have their results.
“We’re not in a situation yet where the additional restrictions we recently had will be reintroduced and that is what the council are working hard to avoid.”
Anyone with symptoms wishing to get tested should go to www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test .