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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
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This page last updated on 13 April 2020
- Easter
ONS COVID-19
statistics are in question...
OVER
the last few days Care England, who are the UK's leading body of
care providers within England have issued a warning that
Coronavirus death toll is higher than what is being shown by the
National Office of Statistics (ONS) as it's missing out those
who die in care homes across the country. This has raised the
question that Ministers are underestimating the impact of
COVID-19 on the most vulnerable sectors of society. If you have
any views on this, please email us to:-
News24@southportReporter.Com.
fire and
rescue personnel in Coronavirus isolation as services pay the
price for testing fiasco
FIRE and Eescue personnel
urgently need Coronavirus testing, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU)
has warned, as services lose up to 12% of their Firefighters and
Control Staff to self isolation. Nearly 3,000 Fire and Rescue
staff are in self isolation and unable to work, representing
5.1% of the UK's overall fire and rescue workforce. Just under
2,600 of them are operational Firefighters and Control Staff,
making up 5.3% of the total. Emergency Fire Control Rooms, which
have fewer staff, have been worst hit in some areas, with some
control rooms losing 15.9% of their staff. The FBU has said
that, without urgent testing of frontline personnel, there will
inevitably be an impact on brigades' ability to provide fire
cover and respond to other emergencies, including their work
supporting the Coronavirus response. Fire and Rescue Services in
the UK are operating with 11,500 fewer Firefighters than in
2010.
The FBU's
research has revealed that:-
► In London Fire Brigade (LFB), 472
Firefighters and Control Staff are in isolation, nearly 10% of
the total. Overall, 478 LFB staff (8.5%) are in isolation, an
increase of nearly 200 since 20 March 2020.
► West Midland Fire and Rescue,
covering Birmingham, has 110 Firefighters and Control Staff in
isolation, totalling 7.5%.
► West Yorkshire's control room has
15.9% of its staff in isolation, while in Mid and West Wales
it's more than 13%.
► Bedfordshire has the highest
proportion in isolation, with 55 Firefighters and Control Room
Staff, 12% of their total.
The Scottish Government has committed to initial limited testing
of Firefighters and Control Staff, which has already begun at
Glasgow airport, as the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service loses
362 staff to isolation, just under 5% of its workforce.
Testing has been made available to 50 personnel from Northern
Ireland Fire and Rescue Service who have symptoms. 147 staff
(7.5%) are currently in isolation. In Wales, where 178 staff are
in isolation, the devolved Government has committed to testing
other emergency service personnel once tests have been secured
for NHS staff.
But in a letter to the FBU, Security Minister James Brokenshire
made no commitment to testing fire and rescue personnel in
isolation, within England, of which 2,300 are in isolation.
Emergency Fire Control Staff handle 999 calls and provide vital
fire survival guidance for areas of up to 5 million people, from
a single room. Should 1 member of staff contract the virus, the
emergency call infrastructure for an entire Region could be at
risk!
Some Firefighters are now:- driving Ambulances and assisting
Ambulance staff; delivering food and medicines to vulnerable
people; and working with the Police to move dead bodies, after
the FBU reached a landmark agreement with Fire Chiefs and fire
and rescue employers.
Firefighters will now also be able to fit masks and respirators
for NHS staff and deliver Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
and medical supplies to NHS trusts, after a further agreement
was reached on Thursday, 9 April 2020.
While the FBU has called for Firefighters to cease all
non-essential, non-emergency interactions with the public, they
will continue to come into contact in emergency situations and
as part of their Coronavirus response work, placing them at
greater risk of infection.
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said:- "The Westminster
Government is playing with fire by not testing Firefighters and
Control Room Staff for Coronavirus. Currently, crews are
maintaining services, but this will become increasingly
difficult as the virus spreads.There are already thousands of
Firefighters and Control Staff in self isolation, only a
fraction of which will have the disease. If we aren't able to
find out exactly who is infected, and more staff isolate
unnecessarily, services will be put on a dangerous knife edge.
Of course testing of NHS staff has to be a priority, but
Firefighters and other emergency service personnel are also at
serious risk. The very safety of the public relies on them being
able to attend work. There needs to be a clear and deliverable
testing strategy for all workers required to continue at work.
The Government failed to secure test kits in sufficient numbers
early in the pandemic and now frontline services are paying the
price. Devolved Governments have begun to take steps in the
right direction, but in Westminster time is standing still;
Ministers need to get to grips with this crisis and ensure that
all emergency service personnel are tested as soon as possible."
Total UK cases
COVID-19 Cases Update for Liverpool City Region and
surroundings
UK Hospital deaths
are rose again by 713 making the current Hospital
fatalities, linked to COVOD-19 standing at 11,329. The
number of COVID-19 infections has risen by 4,342 in just a
day, to 88,621, the Department of Health said. In England,
there are a total of 69,329 confirmed cases. North West -
total of 10,027 confirmed cases. Current confirmed cases
within the following local authorities are as follows:-
► Liverpool, 882 confirmed cases.
► Sefton, 469 confirmed cases.
► Wirral, 526 confirmed cases.
► St. Helens, 369 confirmed cases.
► Halton, 194 confirmed cases.
► Lancashire, 1,532 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire West and Chester, 410 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire East, 386 confirmed cases.
► Manchester, 643 confirmed cases.
► Stockport, 464 confirmed cases.
► Trafford, 365 confirmed cases.
► Wigan, 296 confirmed cases.
► Bolton, 364 confirmed cases.
► Rochdale, 267 confirmed cases.
► Bury, 233 confirmed cases.
► Tameside, 276 confirmed cases.
► Oldham, 332 confirmed cases.
► Blackburn with Darwen, 152 confirmed cases.
These stats are according to Public Health England as of
13/04/2020.
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EDITION... Click
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