Public ‘likely to be at risk for at least another year’ Calderdale health chiefs warn

People are likely to be at risk of contracting COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic for at least another year, councillors heard.
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Calderdale Council’s Cabinet approved an Outbreak Prevention and Control Plan to help the borough deal with outbreaks of COVID-19 that might occur within it in the months ahead.

The document, which has been signed off by Calderdale’s Director of Public Health Deborah Harkins, was sent to the Government last week along with plans from other local authorities in England.

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It outlines seven themes which aim to protect people as much as possible and minimise the impact of outbreaks where possible.

Halifax town centreHalifax town centre
Halifax town centre

Leader of the Council, Coun Tim Swift said the council’s own experiences and those of other authorities had informed the planning.

“It is very likely that we will remain at risk from the coronavirus for at least the next 12 months.

“As some of the lockdown measures are eased we need to do everything we can to reduce infection and keep people as safe as we can.

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“That means keeping levels low in Calderdale and so far we have been relatively low.

“To be able to do that we need to spot trends of infection early, so we can take action early and reduce the spread,” he said.

As of June 28, the infection rate in Calderdale was around 300 for every 100,000 of people, said Coun Swift, with Calderdale in the lowest 20 per cent of affected local authorities nationally.

Coun Geraldine Carter (Con, Ryburn) asked if there could be cross-party representation on the outbreak control board, which Cabinet also agreed to set up, along similar lines as the Health and Wellbeing Board.

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Coun Swift (Lab, Town) said he would consider the request but not make a decision yet – however the new board should report to Health and Wellbeing and other council scrutiny boards on a regular basis.

He said points raised through a public question and answer session by Jenny Shepherd of the Calder Valley tracing group were also noteworthy, including the challenging issue of how to ensure anyone testing positive would take the necessary time off work to self-isolate, and also people they had been in contact with, making it important people knew their rights regarding sick pay.

Social distancing, hand-washing and respiratory hygiene still had a critical part to play and would ultimately help the economy – health and economic recovery were closely linked, said Coun Swift.

“The better we get the public health, the easier it is for the economy to thrive,” he said.

The plan focuses on seven key themes.

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The first is planning the management of local outbreaks at care homes and schools, for example by ensuring that there is effective monitoring and identifying the required response in different scenarios.

Second, it will identify areas which have a higher risk of the transmission of infection, for example meat packing plants, places of worship, ports and airports and then put in place preventative measures and outbreak management strategies.

A third challenge will be making sure that enough tests are quickly made available locally at the places where they are needed if there is a suspected outbreak.

Fourthly, the council will support Public Health England on local contact tracing if needed.

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Analysing the local and national data to monitor the rate of infection will be a fifth task.

Sixth, the council will continue supporting vulnerable people who need to self-isolate and ensure services meet the needs of all Calderdale’s communities.

Finally, the council will establish a Local Outbreak Control Board, led by councillors, to oversee the local element of the national Test and Trace programme.

The plan will be available to view at www.calderdale.gov.uk