Emergancy COVID-19 Notices for the Liverpool City Region - 2020-05-29

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DAILY EMERGENCY COVID-19 NEWS
... Important Daily Notices ...

AS This page is to place quick update important notices that are being sent to us from Government and other organisations over the Coronavirus Emergency affecting our country (UK)...  Please remember that the information changes quickly, so always check to see what time and when the last post was made.  We will update as and when we can...  Users of our Formby Reporter's Free Email Service will get most updates 1st and then they will be added on here as soon as we can...  If you have any updates to send in or any views on the posts on here, please email us to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com.

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This page last updated on 29 May 2020


Here's what a trip to the Dentist will now look like

DENTAL practices will be among the most sterile environments in the country when they reopen in line with the latest Government guidelines, from Monday, 8 June 2020. From temperature screening to cleansing mouthwashes, patients will notice significant differences to their usual Dentist experience since COVID-19, all specifically made to minimise the risk of spreading the virus. Dentists hope the measures will help reduce the concern of almost a 3rd of Brits who expressed a reluctance to return to their Dentist post lockdown, according to research from leading dental group, Portman Dental Care.

Catherine Tannahill, Director of Clinical Dentistry, at Portman Dental Care, which has more than 130 practices across the UK, said:- "As practitioners we want to reassure patients that a trip to the Dentist in the new normal will mean they will be visiting one of the safest environments in the UK. While our research shows some people are nervous to return, it's vital as a profession that we reopen and provide treatments once again to those in need, to help curb any potential dental health crisis in the future, such as a spike in oral cancer, one of the UK's biggest causes of cancer related deaths. The patient journey, from the 8 June 2020, will be different, to ensure everyone's safety, but the care and professionalism from our dental practitioners will continue to be exemplary. In order to help combat any nervousness and uncertainty around returning to dental practices we want to clearly explain what this new patient journey is likely to look like across the majority of UK practices, including all of our own, that way people know first-hand what to expect, how to prepare and understand that it is safe. The virtual or remote consultations we have become accustomed to will continue even after reopening to aid convenience and reduce the need for contact in a surgery, with those in need of treatment then invited into practice. All patients in need of treatment will be called and briefed on the new procedures in place and details of their appointment before visiting the practice. They may also be asked to complete and return a new medical history form digitally ahead of their appointment. It is also crucial that people come to the practice alone where possible, with the exception of young children and those with carers, and that they bring as minimal personal belongings with them as possible. The practice doors will only be open to those with an appointment at the corresponding time, in order to stop people gathering in the waiting rooms. Therefore, patients will need to call the practice upon their arrival and either wait in their car or stand outside, practicing the social distancing recommendations, until a member of the team calls them to tell them to enter the practice. Before entering the practice, the patient's temperature will be screened, which is something all colleagues will also undergo each day. This is to check whether they have a fever, and anyone with a temperature below 37.5 degrees will then be invited in. For safety, those with a temperature above this will be asked to rearrange their appointment. Once inside, receptionists will be sat behind plastic screens and the patient will be asked to sanitise their hands and put on a facemask. As Dentists we obviously can't carry out social distancing when performing routine check ups and treatments, so the teams will be in full Personal Protective Equipment. In our Portman Dental Care practices, we have also decided to further invest in state of the art air purifying technology, which will continuously clean the air and eliminates 99.99% of airborne viruses. Once the appointment is complete, patients will need to wash their hands and replace their facemask, before returning to the reception, where they will dispose of their mask in a designated bin. The treatment room and other key surfaces will then be fully cleaned and disinfected. This means that there will be longer time periods between patients, and so practices will be seeing a reduced number of patients each day. Before, a private Dentist may have seen up to 21 patients per day, but post lockdown this may reduce to as little as 8. Dentists are likely to begin working longer hours to accommodate the backlog of patients, but there will be a priority for appointments in the first instance, with those who are vulnerable, those in need of urgent dental care or those in need of continued routine dental treatment getting 1st priority."

According to the research from Portman Dental Care, only 28% of people say they will feel comfortable enough to return to their Dentist right away post lockdown, with a 3rd stating they will wait a couple of months or so and one in ten even claiming they will wait a year or more. Patients in London (44%) and those aged 18 to 34 (51%) are the most hesitant to return, while those in the East Midlands and Scotland are most likely to wait more than a year to return.

"We understand that people might be nervous about returning to their Dentists, as similarly to the hairdressers, social distancing simply isn't possible between clinician and patient, but it is concerning to see through our research that so many people are hesitant to return and some may even wait months before visiting. As with many other services, we are no longer in a place of business as usual, and so Dentists have been working tirelessly behind the scenes over the past few months to restructure the way in which we carry out check ups and treatments in order to help keep people safe and ensure the patient experience is as seamless as possible. Hopefully this outline shows everyone that practices are safe, but if people need further information, we have also created a full breakdown of what a new patient journey will look like in dental practices post lockdown, which you can view online."
continued Catherine.


"We must be ambitious for our economic recovery" Metro Mayor

STEVE Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, has set out the Combined Authority's initial analysis of the economic impact of COVID-19 on the City Region and revealed the 1st steps of a 4 pronged approach to drive economic and business recovery.

The emerging priorities for economic recovery focus on supporting businesses to adapt and thrive, jobs and skills, places and infrastructure and identifying opportunities to Build Back Better in the post COVID-19 City Region.

National figures predict a drop in GDP of almost 6% and a 30% loss of economic output in the first half of 2020. The Combined Authority's own research has shown 95% of City Region businesses have already been impacted by the crisis.

The report, due to be considered by the Combined Authority, sets out a mixed picture for the City Region. Before the crisis began, the Liverpool City Region had the fastest economic growth in England at 3.5% a year and well above average productivity growth. Over the last 10 years, its business base has also grown faster than national rates, with real strengths in retail, culture and visitor economy, in health and infectious disease control, advanced manufacturing and high performance computing.

Despite this progress, the City Region still faces the legacy of long standing and deep rooted socio economic challenges and inequalities, including in health, skills and employment levels, which has led to a greater impact from COVID-19 locally than elsewhere.

The City Region is also heavily reliant on its culture and visitor economy. Plus its high degree of specialisation in the manufacturing, wholesale, retail and motor trades and education sectors; all of which are forecast to see a fall in output of at least 50% nationally.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said:- "My top priority throughout this crisis has been protecting people's health and safety, as well as their jobs and livelihoods. I have been working closely with our Local Authority leaders, the Local Enterprise Partnership, businesses, Trade Unions, the community and voluntary sector and national Government, to assess the economic impact of the Coronavirus; understand the needs of our communities and develop Region wide plans for economic recovery. Before this crisis our Region was making strong economic progress. As well as being the most productive Region in the North, we led the country in GVA growth. As we rebuild, those strengths will be even more important. The road ahead will be a tough one, but I believe that our resilience and creativity gives us the ability to come back stronger than before. There can be no return to business as usual; and nor should there be. We have a unique opportunity to hit reset and Build Back Better. That means a fairer, more inclusive economy and society that is kinder to the environment and to each other. But the reality is that given the scale of the challenge we face, we will need funding and support from central Government. We must be ambitious about our economic recovery and I want the Government to recognise the unarguable case for investment in our Region. That's why today, we are setting out the preliminary evidence and the 1st steps in a 4 pronged approach to our economic recovery. We will be announcing further details through the recently established Economic Recovery Panel and submitting comprehensive plans to Government over the coming weeks."

The 4 priority themes for economic and business recovery focus on:-

► Seizing the opportunity to Build Back Better, to reshape our economy and society in a way that is greener, fairer and more inclusive.

► An enhanced business ecosystem where commercial and social businesses are supported to adapt, innovate, grow and thrive in the post COVID-19 world.

► A people focused recovery that defends our progress over the last decade with skills and employment at its centre, improving health, wealth and wellbeing for everyone, driving inclusive economic growth.

► A focus on investing in places and economic infrastructure that protects our culture and visitor economy, re-imagines our Towns, and attracts public and private sector investment in to our City Region's infrastructure.

Councillor Pat Hackett, Leader of Wirral Council and Portfolio Holder for Inclusive Economy and 3rd Sector, at the Combined Authority, said:- "We must recognise the reality that every one of the 6 Local Authority areas in our City Region has been hit harder by COVID-19 because of long term socio economic challenges and inequalities, which, despite the progress we have been making, held back the potential of too many individuals and communities. Because of devolution, we have a pipeline of shovel ready, world leading projects like the National Packaging Innovation Centre, the Health Innovation Liverpool digital campus, the Construction Manufacturing Development and Training Centre, our plans to bring ultra fast Digital Connectivity to the whole City Region by 2023 and Town Centre initiatives, that, with the injection of Government funding, could be started almost immediately."

Councillor Kate Groucutt, Deputy Portfolio Holder for Inclusive Economy and 3rd Sector, at the Combined Authority, said:- "The Combined Authority's economic team has been working closely with partners from our local authorities and across our business community and trade unions to assess the economic impact and develop our plans for economic and business recovery in the short, medium and long-terms. This analysis has been vital in developing these initial plans, which will ultimately help our economy bounce back and support people and communities right across our Region. What we need now is real support and investment from the Government both in the themes identified in our recovery planning but also in strategic, long-term projects, such as town centre regeneration across the Region, the unique Mersey Tidal Power plan and Northern Powerhouse Rail which will bring jobs and economic growth years in advance of that envisaged in current plans."


Coronaphobia:- Employees are refusing to come back to work

BUSINESSES across the UK who are making efforts to get back to business are facing a new uphill struggle; employees claiming stress and anxiety or are simply requesting outright to be furloughed for another 3 months. Workers who were furloughed back in April 2020 are being gradually invited back to work, although some are being asked to work from home. However, many small businesses are reporting major issues in getting staff back to their roles, after 3 months being at home.

"It's crazy to think that after all this uncertainty and worry; that happy time arrives when you can invite staff back to work and that they don't want to actually come back!"
says Jonathan Ratcliffe who runs office space company Offices.Co.UK

Reports from SMEs across the UK include:-

► Workers being too scared to come back to work and are being signed off due to anxiety.

► Staff not wanting to come back to work, who would rather be furloughed for a bit longer.

► Employees deciding to have a change of career.

"Those struggling mentally you can well understand and have my sympathy, but we have seen 1st hand staff simply asking if they can stay on furlough for a bit longer, it's crackers, I couldn't believe my ears."
adds Ratcliffe.

Businesses must tread carefully and understand the employee's rights. Employers now face the daunting challenge of rebuilding businesses across a wide variety of sectors with a lack of motivated staff due to the long spell of lockdown.

The issue is complex, and the situation is unique for every type of business and every employee. However, as companies see demand for services increase over the next month, the issue of reintroducing staff from furlough into a routine of work is going to be a challenging one.

"I totally sympathise with everyone who has been furloughed, it's a tough time, but we must realise the scheme cannot go on indefinitely. We want to welcome employees back with socially distanced open arms and build our way back out of this mess."
Ratcliffe from Offices.Co.UK concludes.


Total UK cases COVID-19 cases - update for Liverpool City Region and surroundings

THE total number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) that have been laboratory confirmed, within the UK, has risen by 2,095 cases and the total number now stand at 271,222, that includes tests carried out by commercial partners which are not included in the 4 National totals. The total number of deaths of people who have had a positive test result confirmed by a Public Health or NHS laboratory is 38,161. Daily number of COVID-19 associated UK fatalities added to the total, was sadly reported to be 324 according to the Department of Health. In England, there are a total of 151,982 confirmed cases. North West - total of 25,433 confirmed cases. The number of laboratory confirmed cases within the following Local Authorities, in and around the Liverpool City Region are as follows:-

► Liverpool, 1,614 confirmed cases.

► Sefton, 926 confirmed cases.

► Wirral, 1,271 confirmed cases.

► St. Helens, 751 confirmed cases.

► Halton, 395 confirmed cases.

► Lancashire, 3,585 confirmed cases.

► Cheshire West and Chester, 1,117 confirmed cases.

► Cheshire East, 1,221 confirmed cases.

► Manchester, 1,565 confirmed cases.

► Stockport, 1,047 confirmed cases.

► Trafford, 815 confirmed cases.

► Wigan, 1,202 confirmed cases.

► Bolton, 1,013 confirmed cases.

► Rochdale, 777 confirmed cases.

► Bury, 749 confirmed cases.

► Tameside, 715 confirmed cases.

► Oldham, 1,068 confirmed cases.

► Blackburn with Darwen, 410 confirmed cases.

These stats are according to Public Health England as of 29/05/2020. Last updated 5.21pm GMT. UK total includes cases detected through:- "Pillar 2" testing (tests carried out by commercial partners) and therefore does not equate to the sum of the 4 countries' counts, which only include:- "Pillar 1" (tests carried out by NHS / PHE / Devolved Administration Labs).. UK total includes cases detected through:- "Pillar 2" testing (tests carried out by commercial partners) and therefore does not equate to the sum of the 4 countries' counts, which only include:- "Pillar 1" (tests carried out by NHS / PHE / Devolved Administration Labs).


UK Government Coronavirus Press Conference on 29 May 2020 Video


 


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