"We are not the first to be put under local restrictions and we will not be the last...I think this is going to become a fact of life in this country in the months ahead..." Andy Burnham
As each borough in Greater Manchester is coming to terms with new restrictions to stop the spread of coronavirus, this afternoon Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, alongside Richard Leese (Deputy Mayor) and Beverley Hughes (Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime), held a remote press conference to explain why the policy has been put in place.
Burnham began by showing the seven day rate of positive tests per 100,000 population which showed that the rate in Salford had almost doubled in the last fortnight, from a rate of 10.8 in the week ending 18th July, to 20.9 in the week ending 27th July.
Large increases were also seen in Bury (9.9 to 16.8), Manchester (13.4 to 25.9), Stockport (7.2 to 16.7), Tameside (4.9 to 16.3), Oldham (14.8 to 54.0), and Trafford which rose massively from 8.8 to 40.9 (see graphic).
"This is the evidential base for action being taken" Burnham explained "There has been a significant rise in nine of our ten boroughs over the space of a matter of days and that prompted a very lengthy discussion amongst leaders on Wednesday. We have concluded that further action was going to be needed in response to the picture that we could see developing...
"We could see what the Government could see and came to a similar conclusion, so when the Health Secretary contacted me...I was able to agree, on the basis of consultation with the leaders, that we needed to do something to change what we could see which was widespread community transmission across our boroughs" he added "...We supported the case for intervention."
While supporting the new measures* Burnham did, however, have concerns about the way the measures were communicated to the public and that further clarity was needed from the Government on the position of outdoor areas in hospitality settings and gatherings in public spaces..."How many people can gather in an outdoor space in Greater Manchester – is it 30 or is it six?" he asked.
Meanwhile the restriction on garden visitors was questioned..."We were originally informed that the restrictions would apply to homes and not gardens. We don't understand the reasons for the inclusion of gardens and are not convinced that this is a proportionate measure. We therefore call on the Government provide further evidence or amend the regulations."
And the position on restaurants was questioned..."We believe that this announcement will cause further difficulties for restaurants. Given the adaptations restaurants have made at great expense, there is a case for the new arrangements not applying to them. However, if the Government will not allow different households to meet in socially-distanced arrangements in restaurants, then further support will be needed for hospitality businesses that have recently re-opened."
Speaking on behalf of the ten leaders of Greater Manchester councils, Burnham also called on the Government to extend the shielding arrangements in areas have had restrictions imposed until the restrictions are lifted...
"The Prime Minister has confirmed that the shielding policy will be suspended from tomorrow and Government support ended" he stated "We believe this will cause considerable uncertainty and risks sending mixed messages to those shielding in Greater Manchester...Our councils will need additional financial support to help us deliver that additional support."
He also called for "further improvements to the Track and Trace system, including: "the quicker escalation of cases to local areas where people can't be contacted" and "the inclusion of workplace data to enable identification of potential workplace hotspots."
Most importantly, he argued, was the need to correct a "very serious gap in the system before we head any further towards the autumn and the winter, and that is the lack of financial support for people in lower paid employment to self-isolate.
"It's the case that there are many people living in areas that have recently been subject to these new restrictions in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, East Lancashire who are not employed in jobs that support them to self-isolate" he explained
"They know they may not be paid if they are in a zero hours contract job or they may fear that they may lose their job if they self-isolate" he added "and even for those who have access to statutory sick pay it isn't high enough, and we believe this is one of the reasons for the lower success rate of the national Test and Trace system in more deprived areas.
"They are reluctant, perhaps, to give the names of contacts, knowing that they won't be in a position either to listen to what's being said", he insisted, and called on the Government to urgently address that issue..."We need a new arrangement, agreed with employers, where all employees are able to immediately follow the request to self-isolate with full pay covered."
In answer to questions from the press, Andy Burnham said that the link between deprivation and the virus was "clear" for the reasons above, "compounded by poor overcrowded housing in many parts of our more deprived communities". Although he added that it wasn't clear that Greater Manchester is suffering more from the virus than other parts of the country...all communities where there's a higher level of deprivation are at greater risk from COVID-19.
"We are not the first to be put under local restrictions and we will not be the last" he added "...I think this is going to become a fact of life in this country in the months ahead..."
He explained that in light of the new data "ahead of the weekend, a clear message was needed to be sent and that's why the Government didn't waste any time...I think they were right to act quickly, that the measures are proportionate and are as modest possibly as they can be, aside from the points we raised about gardens."
Richard Leese added that "What we wanted to do was take preventative action before we get into a situation where we have to take more severe action...In Greater Manchester people have families that are spread from one district to another...
"Hopefully in two to three weeks we'll be back to a relaxation regime again" he said "But the way things were going if we didn't do something we would risk a far more severe lockdown."
Andy Burnham added that looking at it borough by borough was wrong... "We're all interconnected and I don't think it's helpful to do it on a borough by borough basis, I think you've got to look at the overall picture...and the overall picture is that cases are growing all over the city region..."
On the question of house parties and youth gatherings being responsible for new spreads of the virus, Richard Leese explained that "we've certainly seen an increase in the number of younger people who have been testing positive for COVID-19 and we believe that is because young people have been acting, firstly as if COVID-19 was over, and to a certain extent as if they are almost immune to it.
"House parties, illegal raves, all those things will have undoubtedly played a part and we've also seen young people mixing in a whole range of different settings" he added "It's one of the main themes that we do want to convey...that they are not immune; they might suffer lower levels of symptoms than older people but we've still had deaths among younger people and we know that younger people who contract coronavirus, even if they have mild symptoms, now can do themselves long term lung and heart damage and the big risk is that they are capable of transmitting the virus to friend and family who are a lot more vulnerable..."
Andy Burnham added that it wasn't just young people socialising causing the spread; "There are many young people who work in hospitality settings and we have had some reports of variable implementation on the requirements on licensed premises to take names and manage the environment properly. So I think there needs to be a new focus to ensure that people who are working in those environments, often younger people, are properly protected and that's an area of concern for us too."
It was reported that transmissions of the virus have moved from hospital and care home settings to community settings and in-home family transmission, as well as spreading via younger people.
In answer to questions on how the new restrictions will be policed, Beverley Hughes responded that the police have no powers to enter people's homes without consent and the focus will be "to engage people, to encourage them to voluntarily abide by these regulations, to explain why they are necessary and only if absolutely necessary to enforce them
"The enforcement powers the police have are restricted really to instances where there are concerns about public order" she added "...and also there's the fixed penalty notices and that would be in the case of really large house parties or disorder in and around property...the police resources are finite..."
The authorities are relying on consent, she said later, because "There isn't a great deal of enforcement in terms of small groups of people in their own homes that we can apply...."
Another question was raised about an MP in West Yorkshire who claimed that the Muslim community in his constituency were not taking the pandemic seriously, which drew indignation from Andy Burnham...
"I don't think it's a good idea ever to make sweeping generalisations about your constituents or to single out one group within your community" he said "...As the figures we've presented today show, there are a minority of people in all communities who haven't followed the guidance as they should have done, and there are particular reasons why people in more deprived communities are finding it harder to follow the guidance.
"I think it's a question of supporting all communities and giving clear messages to them and the help they need to follow the guidance" he said, while Richard Leese added that "within the city of Manchester we have had had "phenomenal co-operation from the Muslim communities in general and from the mosques in particular"...
"The community that's facing most disruption today is the Muslim community" Burnham said "And if we put ourselves in the same position of changes being announced late on Christmas Eve how frustrating would that be" he added "...We know that this must be really hard right now..."
In response to a question about adherence to restrictions, Burnham said: "I think people are waking up to a different reality here; that we are living with this virus amongst us now and it is on the rise again...
"I think people will be making their own judgements about their own safety, their family's safety and how they need to go about things" he explained, adding that if people see the new figures "it doesn't make sense to invite people into your own home and put your family at risk of infection. It doesn't make sense. So we are urging everybody to take on board what is happening here. There is evidence of change on the ground and when the facts change on the ground we all need to consider our actions....It's about everyone's health."
In terms of lifting the restrictions, Andy Burnham said that Greater Manchester does not have the criteria, and called on the Government to set them out so that everyone knows where they stand. The measures, he explained, will be reviewed on a weekly basis and was hopeful they could be lifted quickly...."That's what we've got to aim for and that's why people should follow the guidance..."
* For more details see previous Salford Star article – click here
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