Blackburn’s rising tide of cases as risk ignored
An asthma sufferer, 18-year-old Aadil Sidat sheltered at his parents’ home for much of lockdown. But now he is back at work, at the counter of a corner shop in the Little Harwood area of Blackburn.
Speaking from behind the mask he has recently started to wear, Aadil, who studies maths at the University of
Central Lancashire, admits he is worried about who might walk into the shop – and whether they will potentially be a carrier of Covid-19.
“Some people still come into the shop without masks on, and there isn’t much we can do,” he says. “I do feel like we need more help.”
An upsurge in cases has pushed Blackburn to the uncoveted position of third on the national list of highest weekly coronavirus infections, behind Leicester and the nearby town of Pendle. While Leicester has a rate of 118.2 cases per 100,000, here it is 47 cases per 100,000, though that figure has risen markedly in recent weeks.
According to the local authorities, this “rising tide” of cases is centred among the town’s large south Asian community. Similar problems which have exacerbated the Leicester outbreak are here, too, specifically, multi-generational households living in often overcrowded housing. Little Harwood is one such predominantly Asian area where there are fears that the stringent health messages necessary to contain the virus, are simply not getting through. Aadil agrees. “Some Asian people don’t take this so seriously,” he says. “Sometimes, they might still just go to their friend’s houses without taking precautions.”
The restrictions imposed on Blackburn this week include inspections of “small corner shops”. In recent days, council workers have been along Whalley Old Road, a parade of mostly Asian businesses. Among those visited are Miriam and
‘You can live in households where there are eight or nine people. One brings it in, and everyone gets sick’
Musa Sidat, who have run a hardware shop on the street for 27 years. Since the visit, Miriam says they have decided to only permit one customer in at a time, but otherwise there are no obvious precautions in place. “I don’t understand why they say it is affecting here,” she says. “I don’t know anybody that has caught the virus.”
According to Jay Adam, a sales director of British Indian heritage who worships at the local mosque, large, mixed-generation households are a key driver for the disease. “You can live in big households where there are eight or nine people all in one house,” he says. “One person brings it in, and everyone gets sick.” In May, police criticised a “serious breach of lockdown” in the area after worshippers celebrating the Muslim festival of Eid gathered to pray in a nearby street. The second Eid takes place at the end of July, but Jay insists people he knows will obey the rules, and celebrate apart. It is a painful decision to take, akin to cancelling Christmas. “But we have agreed if the situation stays like this, there is nothing else we can do,” he says.