Four areas may be free of Covid
FOUR areas of Stockport could be Covid-free, according to the latest official figures.
Marple Bridge and Mellor had already seen its cases dip into the ‘fewer than three cases’ category last week.
It has now been joined by three other parts of the borough – Heaton Moor, Heaton Mersey and Bramhall South and Woodford.
All four areas show up in white – between zero and two cases – on the Public Health England heat map for the week to February 9.
Only two other areas in Greater Manchester – Diggle, Delph and Denshaw in Oldham, and University North and Whitworth in Manchester – fall into the same potentially ‘Covid-free’ category.
Stockport Mayor Coun Dean Fitzpatrick – whose Heatons South ward includes Heaton Mersey – has given the news a warm but cautious welcome.
“I think it’s great news that figures are going in the right direction,” he said.
“That’s testament to the hard work of the frontline service in the NHS and GPs getting the vaccine into people and also many, many people doing the right thing.”
But Coun Fitzpatrick has urged people not to become complacent and to continue sticking to the ‘hands-facespace’ social distancing rules.
He added: “It’s fantastic news but there’s still a long way to go. Just because numbers are going in the right direction doesn’t mean they will continue to go in the right direction if we stop doing what we have been doing to bring us to this point.”
He also thanked everyone for the ‘hard work’ that had gone into driving cases down.
Coun Mike Hurlestone, who represents Bramhall South and Woodhall, struck a similarly optimistic yet cautious tone.
“Obviously that kind of news is really pleasing, it’s great to see,” he said.
The Conservative group believes the drop in cases is largely down to people sticking social distancing rules and avoiding contact with others where possible.
He said: “I think that’s the only way you can see these kind of figures, it’s co-operation by everybody.”
Coun Hurlestone also points to the fact that at least 15 million people have now had their first jab – including 70,000 older and clinically vulnerable residents in Stockport.
“In Bramhall South and Woodford, there’s a more elderly population perhaps, and those people have obviously had their vaccinations,” Coun Hurlestone added.
“Most of the over-70s have been done. There was a very high rate of take-up of the vaccination, it’s 95pc-plus. I think that’s a factor as well, and the fact we have been in lockdown for so long. I think people have largely observed it and followed the rules as much as they can.
“I don’t think there’s anything Bramhall and Woodford are doing that other people in Stockport aren’t doing, but it is pleasing to see and I hope it continues, that’s the main thing.”
According to Public Health England data for the week to Feb 10, Stockport has the fourth lowest infection rate in Greater Manchester – standing at 189.1 per 100,000.
While this remains above the England average, it represents an encouraging week-onweek fall of 23pc.
NATURE has some real stars and one of the most beautiful of all those celebrities is the collared dove.
The collared dove is not like the vast majority of our celebs, it’s not showy and it sticks with the same partner throughout its life.
It is the type of bird that would stick to social distancing rules in a bubble with its mate and chicks.
Every day a pair of collared doves arrives at our bird table, picking up the pieces after an invasion of starlings, sparrows and blackbirds.
These graceful birds flutter onto the wall and then hop onto the bird buffet, unlike their tubby cousins, the wood pigeons, which land with a great thud.
It is wonderful watching them interact, so obviously head over heels in love. Do birds have heels? Their movement is like watching a romantic moment from Strictly –
“more bobbing up and down, darling.”
You will have heard collared doves in parks and gardens with their “hoo hoooo-hoo” call, before you actually see them.
This was a soundtrack to my childhood as my dad used to breed collared doves in a huge aviary at the bottom of our garden.
Many escaped and their relatives are probably a large part of the Salford doves that are flapping around now.
I always think of my dad when I see or hear them, he was devoted to them and when he decided to demolish his aviary you could tell something important had slipped out of his life.
I suppose he was harking back to parents and grandparents who had their own pigeon lofts.
Collared doves are known as “love birds” because males and females were always seen together but they are pretty good in the “loooving” department, having bred so well since the 1950s.
It was in the 1950s when they were first recorded in the UK, having flown over from India via western Asia and Europe.
They also made it across to America, but that was nothing to do with my father.
It is now one of most common garden birds and, in winter, you may see small flocks feeding on seeds and grain in local fields.
I think most people will know what a collared dove looks like – it is buff-coloured with darker grey wingtips, a black half-collar and paler patches at the shoulders and at the end of the tail.
Its collar does make it look a bit like a member of the clergy, so don’t swear if their call wakes you up on a Sunday morning. Doves and other birds will be making more regular visits to your bird table as spring arrives, they need to feed up for their young coming along and then feed those fledglings when they have arrived.
So keep your bird tables well stocked with different seeds, fruit and worms and look out for all the wonderful birds that come to visit.