8,000 children and 350 teachers self-isolating in just one city
Around 8,000 school pupils and 350 teachers and staff are self-isolating in Liverpool, its Mayor has said.
The Merseyside city recorded 203 coronavirus cases yesterday and it now has the highest an infection rate of 40.8 per 100,000 people – one of the highest in the UK.
In a tweet Mayor Joe Anderson said: ‘New infections of COVID-19 in this last week in Liverpool is 1254, this has increased the numbers infected to approx 5000 it is doubling every six days.
‘There are currently 8,000 school children at home self isolating and over 350 teachers & staff. Please stay safe and take care.’
After Downing Street cleared the way for schools to fully re-open from June 1, Anderson said he was ‘minded to resist’ the Prime Minister’s proposals due to social distancing concerns of parents, teachers and unions.
The Mayor instead suggested a staggered reopening of schools, only when headteachers, governing bodies, council officials and unions were satisfied it was safe to do so.
Other local authorities including Hartlepool, in Country Durham, joined the resistance against No 10’s guidance due to a high level of cases in their areas.
Liverpool’s director of public health Matt Ashton says the city is now in a ‘very difficult position’ after a sharp rise in cases over the week.
Its seven-day infection rate for the week to September 24 was 242 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 211 in Bolton, which previously had the highest rate in England.
Yesterday Ashton said Covid-19 cases were doubling every eight to nine days in the city and that 12.8% of those being tested were positive – which is alarmingly high.
He tweeted: ‘We are seeing more cases across all age groups with increases now in 65+ age groups, and sharp increases in #covid19 hospital admissions locally. Increases in deaths are likely to follow.
‘We all have to play our part in protecting individuals and our communities.’
Merseyside is currently subject to local lockdown banning different households fro mixing in private homes or gardens.
A number of cities and towns in the Midlands, North West and Wales had lockdown measures imposed on them over the weekend as cases continue to climb.
This is in addition to variations of the ‘rule of six’ on social gatherings across the UK and a 10pm curfew for restaurants and pubs in England, Scotland and Wales.
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