Three Covid-19 cases confirmed in borough
HALTON has recorded its first confirmed three cases of the coronavirus as the nation headed into partial lockdown.
The infections were confirmed on Tuesday evening after the borough had held out as one of the last places for the disease to arrive in.
Public Health England’s monitoring dashboard had three confirmed Halton cases at time of writing on Wednesday morning.
Beeches Medical Centre in Widnes confirmed on Tuesday evening that a member of staff had tested positive for the disease, and Wade Deacon High School sent a letter to parents
Across the UK there were 1,950 confirmed cases, 65 recovered patients and 60 deaths.
There were recorded diagnoses in all of Halton’s neighbouring boroughs: Warrington (three), Cheshire West And Chester (five), Knowsley (one) Liverpool (11), St Helens (two), Sefton (three), Cheshire East (seven) and Wirral (six).
Supermarket shelves emptied of goods at times including toilet rolls, spaghetti, and hand sanitiser, as other stocks dwindled for in-demand items including tinned tomatoes and UHT milk.
Many clubs and groups have closed their doors and ceased activities until further notice or until it is safe to re-open including Halton Veterans Runcorn And Widnes association.
Although Runcorn Linnets played on Saturday, the Northern Premier League has now followed the elite divisions in suspending all fixtures.
All rugby league including Widnes Vikings has been suspended until at least April 3.
Schools have remained open and police and MP constituency surgeries have been cancelled.
Halton Borough Council has cancelled all nonessential meetings and some events so staff can focus on ‘supporting vulnerable residents’ and some will be reassigned.
The local authority said it has ‘tried and tested business continuity plans’ in place to adapt to ‘significant’ changes in the daily running of services.
The council has urged residents to keep in touch but warned that call waiting times will likely be longer.
Cllr Rob Polhill, Halton Council’s leader, called for everyone to pull together.
He said: “It is important we pull together as a community to get through the difficult days, weeks and possibly months that lie ahead.
“As a council, our priority will be on looking after those people most at risk and that will mean that we will have to stop delivering some non-essential council services.
“We ask everyone in the community to follow Government advice, but also to think about how they may be able to safely support vulnerable neighbours, friends and relatives.”
Halton MP Derek Twigg urged residents to follow official safety advice to wash hands with soapy water for at least 20 seconds, catch coughs and sneeze with tissues and bin the tissue and then wash hands, wipe down phone and keyboards with antibacterial wipes, wash hands when arriving home from or into work, avoid close contact with anyone unwell, and avoid touching eyes, noise and mouth.
He added that statutory sick pay (SSP) is now available from day one of self-isolation, previously it had been day four.
Mr Twigg said that for those not eligible for SSP can claim Universal Credit from day one, with the minimum income floor also being relaxed.
He added that the Government had introduced a package of loans and rates cuts for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Local authorities will have access to a share of a £500m hardship fund, he said.
He urged constituents to follow basic precautions.
In a short statement, he said: “My thoughts are with the families of those who have passed away from this virus. I want to reassure Halton constituents that my office will continue to function – my staff will work from home.
“We can all take action to minimise the impact of Covid-19 by taking basic precautions like washing our hands and self-isolating if we become ill.
“Please remember that you are not just protecting yourself, you will be protecting the more vulnerable members of our society by helping prevent the spread of this disease.”