Leader calls for Staffordshire to pull together to beat the Coronavirus

Families, workers and businesses must pull together to help Staffordshire through the coronavirus the Leader of Staffordshire County Council said today  - as the outbreak starts to take its toll on the county.

There are now 10 confirmed cases of the virus in Staffordshire, with many more people now likely to be infected and staying at home.

The introduction of stringent new advice for households to self-isolate for 14 days if anyone is showing symptoms, together with special advice for at risk groups means many non-essential services will be affected in the days and weeks to come. These include libraries, the school crossing patrol service and day centres.

Schools in Wales and Scotland are now closing from Friday and the Prime Minister has said a decision is “imminent” on schools in England.

Philip Atkins, Leader of the County Council, said:

We are now in unprecedented times and the challenge and the risks we face are both significant and rising rapidly.

0ur duty as a county council is to protect the most vulnerable, that is the elderly, the disabled and children in our care. This is a responsibility we shoulder and failure is simply not an option.

Together with partners we are working  around the clock to try and keep these people safe, despite the expected critical shortage in the workforce.

The new advice is likely to take its toll on our non-essential services like libraries and school crossing patrols, but the people that run these services must protect themselves and follow Government advice.

It is clear that the challenges will only increase. Staffordshire has always had a great community spirit and there has never been a more important time for us all to pull together to help Staffordshire get through the next few months.”

From today the council is also asking its own workforce in non-critical services or roles to consider switching roles to areas such as social care and children’s services.

The council is also launching a Coronavirus Kindness campaign to support those staying at home – particularly the high risk groups such as the over-70s, those with underlying health conditions and pregnant women.

Alan White, the County Council’s Cabinet member for Health, Care and Wellbeing, said:

The over-70s in particular are the backbone of this county, acting as volunteers, carers, childminders and taxi drivers.

Now is the time for those who still can, to return the favour and do more to help these people get through the next few weeks.

Our Coronavirus Kindness campaign will be able to channel effort and support through our communities to ensure those who are staying at home get a helping hand if they need it. This can be anything from shopping, running errands or even cutting the lawn.

So our message today is if you are generally fit and healthy and under 70 think about what difference you can make as the county will be counting you until we get through this.”

The current advice: 

• The most effective way to reduce the spread is by washing your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds; 
• If you have a new persistent cough or a temperature of 37.8C of more stay at home and self-isolate for seven days if you live alone – or 14 days for the whole household if anyone is symptomatic; 
• Everyone should WFH where this is possible. Avoid non-essential travel by public transport and avoid social gatherings; 
• If you are over 70, have an underlying health condition, or are pregnant you are strongly advised to minimise all social contact; 
• Do not contact NHS111 unless you have symptoms and these worsen.