Hampers to be delivered to people most at risk
Robert Jenrick announces distribution of 50,000 food parcels to vulnerable who have no relatives
GOVERNMENT hampers will this week be delivered to 50,000 people deemed most at risk from the coronavirus outbreak, as the whole country was last night placed on an “emergency footing”.
Boris Johnson has promised to deliver food and vital supplies to people who have been told to self-isolate for 12 weeks because of medical conditions that make them vulnerable to the disease, and who have no friends or family to help them.
However, Robert Jenrick, the Communities Secretary, said the first tranche of parcels would take until the end of the week to deliver, despite them covering a fraction of the 1.5 million people who have been told to cocoon themselves indoors.
Last night the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was unable to say how many people needed hampers, although government sources said it would only be a small proportion of those most at-risk.
They added that the majority of people asked to stay indoors were being assisted by family and neighbours and were not reliant on parcels for groceries or supplies.
Speaking at the daily Downing Street press conference, Mr Jenrick said the Government was “ramping up production” of the hampers and would send out as “many as are required for as long as it takes”.
“If this applies to you, while you will now have to be at home for a prolonged period of time, and that will be difficult, I want you to know that you are not alone,” he continued.
“We’re here to support you for as long as you need us.”
Mr Jenrick also confirmed that every region had now been placed on an emergency footing, with the Government establishing “strategic co-ordination centres” across the country.
In the most “unprecedented step in peacetime”, every centre will be led by gold commanders, with senior leaders drawn from emergency services, the police, ambulance service, local authorities and the NHS.
“From Cornwall to Cumbria … we’ve embedded within each of these groups, members of the armed forces including some of the finest military planners in the world,” Mr Jenrick continued.
“These groups are planning the local response to the virus, using their expertise, their judgment and their leadership to ensure a comprehensive, a coordinated and a consistent response across the country.”
In an appeal to the public to “play your part”, he said that “in every city, in every town, in every village, there’s going to be work to be done”.
“Please consider your friends, your family, your neighbours, when you’re shopping, please call the elderly and support them,” he continued.
“When this is done – and it will be done – we all want to be proud of the part that we’ve played together.”
It came as a poll published last night suggested that nearly half of Britons
‘In every city, in every town, in every village, there’s work to be done. We all want to be proud of the part we played’
are prepared to help deliver groceries and supplies to elderly and vulnerable neighbours who are being forced to self-isolate.
The survey by JL Partners for the think tank Onward found that 48 per cent of people said they would provide support to someone self-isolating, while 40 per cent were happy to care for elderly individuals who cannot look after themselves.
Almost half of respondents were also prepared to speak to neighbours who may be feeling lonely via phone or video link.
Commenting on the findings, Will Tanner, Onward’s director, said: “This virus may have put the UK into selfisolation but it is also bringing us together.
“These poll results demonstrate the enormous latent potential of local communities to support each other through the crisis, just as the response to the NHS volunteer scheme proved.”