WARRINGTON residents are being urged to get the jab, as the town was designated an enhanced response area by the government, due to the continued prevalence of the Delta variant of COVID-19.
Cases are rising rapidly in Warrington, driven by the Delta variant. The government therefore made the decision yesterday, Monday 14 June, to make Warrington an enhanced support package area.
In response to the national announcement, Leader of the Council, Cllr Russ Bowden, said: “The most important thing you can do is to get the jab if you are eligible for the vaccine and haven’t yet had it. However, while I welcome the additional support and focus on testing and vaccine rollout in Warrington, in order to best protect our residents and communities from the Delta variant and indeed other variants of the virus, the ideal support would be a surge vaccination programme.
“Warrington isn’t closed for business and you can still visit your loved ones. That being said, we all have a critical role to play in preventing further spread of the virus and protecting our friends and family. What heartens me is that Warrington has been in a similar position before and we have managed to improve the picture, so once more with the sacrifices and decisions of our communities, I am sure we can work together to address the steep rise in cases.”
Director of Public Health at Warrington Borough Council, Thara Raj, said: “Cases of coronavirus are continuing to rise in Warrington and we can all play our part to reduce the risk of transmission. Stick to the ‘hands, face, space and fresh air’ basics of keeping your distance from others, making sure you wash your hands regularly, wear a face-covering where appropriate and, if you’re meeting people, best to do it outside or in a place where there is plenty of ventilation. Importantly, please also remember to use symptom-free tests routinely and keep symptom-free testing twice a week, so that we can track anyone who may be unknowingly carrying the virus and spreading it to others.
“Fortunately, even as case numbers in the community are increasing, we haven’t seen a spike in hospital admissions just yet. However, we need to be careful, as other areas that have seen a rapid increase in cases are seeing increased hospital admissions a few weeks later – and we need to avoid that possibility at all costs. The enhanced support being offered will be another contributing factor in our mission to make sure everyone who is eligible for the vaccine takes up the offer.”
Chief Executive of Warrington Borough Council, Professor Steven Broomhead MBE, said: “The important thing to remember for us all is that our plans and infrastructure to tackle coronavirus, which have been in place for some time, continue to be available to our communities. For example, we have an excellent testing system, including symptom-free testing sites across the borough, and our health system colleagues have been doing a sterling job locally to vaccinate as many eligible people as possible, through schemes including the local vaccination bus.
“However, we must acknowledge that without a guaranteed and robust ‘surge vaccine’ rollout in response, like in Bolton, we are absolutely reliant on the choices we all make, despite what the rules allow us to do – which I appreciate is a difficult ask. Please therefore try and do what you can to reduce the risk of coronavirus being transmitted within your networks, including self-testing regularly, following the ‘hands, face, space and fresh air’ basics and getting the vaccine when offered.”
As an enhanced designated area Warrington, over the coming days and weeks, there will be, as a minimum:
•An enhanced presence of community engagement and street teams, speaking to residents to make sure they are testing themselves routinely and are taking up the vaccine when offered
•Supervised in-school testing and the reintroduction of face coverings in educational settings
•Surge PCR testing in some specific areas and settings
•Enhanced delivery of local and targeted communications, including roaming ad vans and billboard messages
For more information on coronavirus in Warrington, visit warrington.gov.uk/coronavirus
COVID-19 surge testing to be introduced in Warrington as infection rates continue to rise
