English
Seaside Towns overwhelmed with ‘irresponsible’ day
trippers after easing of Government lock down
IT is not just
Merseyside and Lancashire that have had major problems with day
trippers after the easing of Government lock down, with heavily
congested roads as people head to the beach and other
attractions. Councils in areas around the English coastline had
requested people not to go to the beaches, but sadly, seaside
and surrounding places are still being overwhelmed. Now people
on Merseyside are now even more worried after seeing what
happened in Weston Super Mare, Somerset. Locals living in Weston
Super Mare, just as here on Merseyside, are not only furious
about the congestion and dangerous parking, but also at the
shocking amounts of litter, and worse. Councils in Weston Super
Mare, as did those on Merseyside, had issued a clear warning
that said:- "There no amenities or toilets were open for
drivers on arrival," but still they came. With many
complaining about the lack of facilities!
Now, even more worrying is that locals within the Weston Super
Mare believe the hordes of "irresponsible"
families and groups, who are said to have come from over 100
miles away, triggered the new healthcare crisis within that
area. There is no direct provable link currently, but as
symptoms appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to the virus, along
with the spike in Covid-19 cases being seen, that lead to Weston
General Hospital, on 25 May 2020, closing its A&E Department to
new admissions. Alarm bells should ring!
It's bad enough even in normal circumstances that resorts have
to deal with local roads becoming heavily congested, as when
beaches become exceptionally busy on a normal bank holiday,
along with all the issues associated with it, but with the risk
of infection for the local community being increased, new laws
might be required. Just as in our area, people ignored requests
not to come after tweets being sent out by Newquay Police
Response:- "Important message. The traffic heading to the
North Devon beaches is exceptionally busy. The beach car parks
are now closed for new traffic. Please avoid the area."
But they still came and on 21 May 2020, a the joint statement
was issued by Devon and Cornwall along with Dorset Police's Road
Policing team who said:- "Come on people, let's have a
shred of consideration for the local communities. We appreciate
the restrictions have been relaxed but let’s use some common
sense, please?" Not only that, just as happened on
Merseyside, the area had lots of reports about cars being parked
illegally all over town and the seafront, Traffic wardens ran
out of tickets, emergency services were blocked and roads
gridlocked.
After the growing issues and problems in the Sefton area since
the easing of the lock down, Cllr Nina Killen, who is a Member
of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton and Chief of Staff for
Bill Esterson, MP for Sefton Central Constituency has said:-
"Sefton Council and Merseyside Police have meet to discuss
management of visitors and traffic to the coast over the next
weekend. With a heat wave predicted, and some beach car parks
still closed, I dread the impact. Please do not travel here as
there are too few facilities open. I asked Merseyside Police to
consider closing some roads or turning traffic away, once the
Formby Beach Car Parks are full, as the gridlocked roads are a
nuisance to residents and potentially dangerous. I have been
told that there will be civil enforcement officers patrolling
the coast all day to ticket cars."
Do you agree? At such a time of risk, we should not be
encouraging people travelling from all over the UK to go the
seaside. We need to have new laws to protect residents and also
more support for local businesses that rely on tourism to help
them handle the numbers that have not been seen for many years.
If not, we risk the danger of a repeat of what has possibly
happened within Weston Super Mare. What are your thoughts on
this issue? Are you worried of a rise in infections within the
Merseyside community? Please email us at:-
News24@SouthportReporter.Com
with your thoughts on this issue.
Licensing
drive in movies and Church Services
ON 27 May 2020, drive
in movie and Church Service event organisers could be granted
temporary radio licences by Ofcom, which may allow film lovers
and congregations to come together while still observing social
distancing. Ofcom has updated its licensing information to offer
guidance to individuals or organisations who may wish to hold
these types of events. They require a:- 'restricted service
licence' from Ofcom, so that people in their cars can hear the
film soundtrack, or what is being said, on their FM car radios.
Given the current Coronavirus pandemic, we are waiving the usual
60 day notice period for licence applications. We will also
process applications quickly, with the aim of providing an
answer to applicants within 2 weeks of it being received. We
recognise that these events may be a way for communities and
congregations to enjoy a film or to worship, while still
observing social distancing. In granting any licence, however,
we are not authorising the event itself. It is for licensees to
ensure that any events are permissible under Covid19 related
laws and guidance. More information, including on how to apply
for a restricted service licence, is available
online.
A computer
virus pandemic could be looming in your inbox!
WARNING has been issued
after a rise in fake emails claiming to be your:- 'service
provider' like:- "System Notification: Error
receiving emails" have started to hit inboxes as
businesses start heading back to work. Other emails being
reported include fake invoices and job orders. These often have
links and attachments that try to infect your computer with
viruses or aimed at giving away personal details, from bank
account information to network passwords. As people go back,
many will find inboxes overflowing, and the people sending these
emails hope that the volume being checked will lead to the
infected or phishing email being acted on by the receiver. Some
of the emails, including a:- 'Facebook' email even
displays a Facebook email address, but don't be fooled. Do not
open attachments and keep your antivirus software up to date.
How will
contact tracing work in England?
IN England the
Government has announced that a new contact tracing system will
be launched on Thursday, 28 May 2020. Health Secretary Matt
Hancock said that they will have 25,000 Clinical Contact
Caseworkers who will be responsible for liaising over the phone
with Covid-19 patients. We are told that they will assist in the
tracing and tracking of anyone they have been in contact with
and then getting those who have been in contact with the patient
to self isolate for 14 days. From the 28 May, anyone within
England who tests positive for Coronavirus will be contacted by
a Clinical Contact Caseworker and asked to log on to the NHS
Test and Trace website. On the site they'll be asked for details
of people with whom they've been in close contact with, within
2m (6ft) for more than 15 minutes, including household members,
But, parent or guardian. But permission is needed should if the
owner of the phone be found to be under 18 for the call to
continue. The identified close contacts will be told to stay at
home for up to 14 days, even if they do not have symptoms, in
order to stop them from unknowingly spreading the virus. But,
the rest of their household will not have to self isolate
alongside them, unless they also develop symptoms. This system
is hoped to aid in the reopening of businesses after lockdown
and help stop future outbreaks, But already many questions are
now being asked. The main question is who will pay those who are
asked to isolate? Others include how to check a contact tracer
is who they report to be and what happens should tracers get
given the wrong information? Eventually the Government hopes a
free NHS smartphone app will work in tandem with manual tracing.
We are told that currently the tracing app has taken place on
the Isle of Wight with mixed results. Northern Ireland has its
own version of the contact tracing up and is us now running. On
Thursday, Scotland will also have its own system. Wales's
tracing system is expected to start in early June 2020.
Responding to the government launch of the new NHS Test and
Trace Service, Chairman of the Local Government Association's
Community Wellbeing Board, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, said:- "COVID-19
is best understood as a pattern of local outbreaks, rather than
a national pandemic with a similar impact in every community,
which is why Councils as local leaders have a fundamental role
to play in the test and trace service. It is good Government has
recognised the importance of Directors of public health within
Councils, who need to have the necessary powers and Authority to
lead the response locally and tackle outbreaks early and
aggressively. The success of the programme will also depend on
the continued support and co-operation of the general public. We
believe they would be reassured and encouraged if the roll out
of the service is underpinned by the leadership of their Local
Council. Environmental Health, Emergency Planners, Trading
Standards, Public Health, including:- Sexual Health Services and
Infection Control Nurses are just some of the Council services
which can use their considerable expertise and unparalleled
experience, to help in stopping the spread of Coronavirus. As we
move into the next phase, it is important that Councils have the
capacity and necessary data to play their full part in this
national programme, so they can understand where the outbreaks
are happening and be able to act quickly to contain them."
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 2,013 cases
and the total number now stand at 267,240, 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 37,460. Daily number of COVID-19 associated UK
fatalities added to the total, was sadly reported to be 412
according to the Department of Health. In England, there are a
total of 150,903 confirmed cases. North West - total of 25,260
confirmed cases. The number of laboratory
confirmed cases within the following Local Authorities, in and
around the Liverpool City Region are as follows:-
► Liverpool, 1,607 confirmed
cases.
► Sefton, 925 confirmed cases.
► Wirral, 1,257 confirmed cases.
► St. Helens, 752 confirmed cases.
► Halton, 394 confirmed cases.
► Lancashire, 3,552 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire West and Chester, 1,102 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire East, 1,204 confirmed cases.
► Manchester, 1,552 confirmed cases.
► Stockport, 1,044 confirmed cases.
► Trafford, 804 confirmed cases.
► Wigan, 1,192 confirmed cases.
► Bolton, 1,007 confirmed cases.
► Rochdale, 770 confirmed cases.
► Bury, 741 confirmed cases.
► Tameside, 709 confirmed cases.
► Oldham, 1,065 confirmed cases.
► Blackburn with Darwen, 408 confirmed cases.
These stats are according to Public Health England as of
27/05/2020. Last updated 4.11pm 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 27 May 2020 Video