The national lock down is pretty much over, with some businesses still closed (as of writing this anyway, who know what will have happened by the time you read this?) and debate still raging about how safe it is for kids to go back to school. My feeling is, and I am willing to eat my words if it’s not the case, is that Prime Minister Johnson will do everything in his power to make sure we never have to do that again. From the start he always seemed more concerned about the economy than people’s health, and the high number of deaths in the UK does seem to bear this out.
But if not a national lock down when cases increase as they surely will, then what? We’ve already seen Leicester, Greater Manchester and areas of Lancashire forced into government-mandated lock downs. But when Liverpool started to see an increase in Covid-19 cases in the Princes Park area of the city, the council took action and fast. They introduced hyper-local preventative measures, without any government involvement and set about doing everything they could to get back on top of the numbers. Two walk in test centres are available for anyone with symptoms with no pre-booking and taxi drivers with or without symptoms as often as they want. Community buildings have been closed and all community events have been suspended for two weeks. Volunteers are going from door to door to advise people about protecting themselves and others. People who had been shielding are being advised to stay at home and reduce social interaction as much as possible. People are being told not to visit other households unless absolutely essential, and certainly no overnight stays are allowed. Local businesses, including pubs, bars and restaurants are being visited and spoken to about precautions they need to be taking with their staff and customers. This has all come from the community. Recognising the lack of an effective track and trace system and still no contact tracing app, Liverpool, as it so often has in the past, has taken control. Why the government took the original track and trace responsibilities away from local government back at the start of the pandemic and then didn’t start it up on a national level until weeks later is really anyone’s guess.
And this approach is working. As of writing this, cases are coming down in Princes Park, and in other areas of Liverpool, cases remain low. And the government has acknowledged that national-level track and trace is not working, and are now looking to take it back to local levels, and to people who know and understand the areas they live and work in.
Much of this pro-action is down to Liverpool’s new Director of Public Health, Matt Ashton. He was on the ball from the moment he started on 1st April, and has the whole city in his sights, not just the areas where there appears to be an increase in cases. And he and his team are finding innovative ways of getting information to wherever it’s needed.
One of the changes brought about by the appointment of Steve Rotheram as Mayor of the Liverpool City Region (LCR) is that he is in a position to see the whole picture rather than just one part of the region. This means that a collaborative and cohesive approach can be used across all boroughs. Issues can be spotted very quickly and dealt with, and in this manner, residents and community organisations can be compelled into action at speed. Whether there be any issues in Liverpool or one of of the other city region boroughs, he and his team are ready to jump in with that council and get things happening.
Yet another problem that the government has failed to get a grip of is people who are required to self-isolate once they have been contacted by track and trace personnel. Not everyone can work from home or is in a position to lock themselves and their household away for two weeks. Once again, Liverpool leads the charge. Within a month of lock down easing, the Covid Isolation Advice Line was set up to assist anyone finding themselves in the situation where they must self-isolate. The helpline will offer advice and guidance to people on all manner of problems, including access to food banks, signposting to organisations to help with all manner of health and welfare support, as well as assisting people with finding work, getting training etc. This sort of initiative only works on a local level - and Liverpool is on it. The helpline is open 8am-6pm, Monday to Friday on 0151 233 3066, and is available to all residents of the LCR.
For more information and to follow this story, I highly recommend following Liam Thorp, Political Editor at the Echo.
-Lucy