Wigan's public health chief urges people to follow Covid-19 rules

Speaking during a question-and-answer session, Prof Kate Ardern said the current rate of new infections in Wigan is 656 per 100,000 of population.

Covid registered deaths are also up in the borough, with 17 in the week ending October 16, a rise of 10 from the previous week.

Urging people to abide by the guidance, she said: “The government placed Greater Manchester including Wigan into tier 3 restrictions because our rates are increasing. The current rate of new infections in Wigan is 656 per 100,000 of population, that makes Wigan the fourth highest borough in terms of new infections rates in England, so yes we need to be in tier 3.

“Now that we have been placed into tier three, I urge everyone of us to abide by the rules.

“This virus travels between people, it’s us that passes it on to each other and the point I would make is that there are several rules we need to follow: wash your hands frequently or use sanitiser particularly when you’ve been out and about, wear a face covering and watch your distance."

She said that meant observing the 2m rule in terms of physical distancing and working from home where possible. Keeping your house as clean as possible is also important as touch points such as fridge doors and doors handles can be a big source of transmitting the virus.

She said: “So if we can all do our bit to stop the virus transmitting further, then our rates will start to come down much quicker, but you have to remember there’s a 14-day incubation period so unless we start doing things now we’re not going to see changes for another couple of weeks.”

From data collected locally, Prof Ardern said the virus was mostly transmitted in homes between people and in places in the community with higher footfall that are more crowded or poorly ventilated.

Asked about the idea of a fortnight-long circuit break similar to Wales, Prof Ardern said it could be a good idea but would need to be national rather than local.

Here is a selection of questions asked by local residents:

Do you think the Tier 3 restrictions will be enough to bring rates down or do you think we’ll need further tiers or a fortnight-long circuit break to bring things back under control before Christmas?

We have to reduce our social contact, our physical social contact, we have observe the measures around hand hygience, around face coverings and around physical distancing. If we all do our bit then our rates should come down but there is that time lag. A circuit break is something that Sage has recommended and this could be a good idea.

From the data we collect locally, do we know where the virus is being transmitted - is it in pubs, schools, restaurants and homes?

Mostly, it’s in our homes between us and that household contact but it’s difficult without doing exact retrospective contact tracing to understand the exact location where somebody might have contracted Covid. But we know that in places within the community with higher footfall, we’re more likely to transmit the virus, and in more crowded and more poorly ventilated situations where we’re not taking Covid safety as well as we should, and not observing face coverings, physcal distancing and hand hygiene, that’s when the virus is going to transmit.

We’re working very closely with our businesses - particularly with our shops, restaurants and other public settings to make sure that they have the best advice and guidance to keep their settings Covid-safe and Covid secure. So that’s about ensuring that frequently touched surfaces are regularly cleaned,

We also know, that in terms of the ban on mixing of different households, this is about how we can try and reduce our ability to transmit between different households. That’s going to be very key for us in the next few weeks.

Many of us have been doing our bit, trying our best to try and make sure that we don’t transmit the virus. We’re going to have to redouble our efforts on that, so wash hands, wear a mask, watch your space and if possible work from home.

Advise on the number of Covid-related deaths in Wigan per week?

Our latest tracker shows that unfortunately, in the week ending October 16, there have been sadly 17 Covid registered deaths in Wigan, that is up 10 deaths from the previous week. So what happens, the way in which the disease spreads in a second pandemic wave is that as new infection rates rise, you then see two to three weeks after new infections an impact on hospital admissions and then two to three weeks after that, sadly that will translate into deaths.

That’s the pattern we’re seeing at the moment. The age group that’s most affected in this second pandemic wave is actually the 40 to 60 age group, so it’s my age group and I suspect several folks who are on this call now will perhaps have thought that the younger age groups are not affected, that’s it’s mostly older age groups,

And certainly the 80+ age group is the most vulnerable, but what we’re seeing now currently is that the rate of new infections is at its highest in the 40 to 60 age group, and that’s translating itself into admissions as well.

So it’s really important that those of us in that age group are obeying the rules and following the good public health measures and advice we have in place. What we’re seeing is relatively even spread across the borough, so we’re not seeing particularly geographical hotspots but what we are seeing very similar to our colleagues in Merseyside is a pandemic wave moving West to East right across the borough.

The good thing about that is it’s not concentrating itself in one particular spot in the borough, it’s moving across the borough and hopefully that will move over in the next couple of weeks, two to three weeks away from us, but that will only do that if we follow the rules and make sure we’re wearing face coverings, watching our space and washing our hands. We’ve got to do all of that.

Are plastic face shields as effective as masks in preventing the spread of Covid-19?

As of yet, there’s no official guidance on face masks but some people do prefer to wear shields instead of a mask or a face covering. A face covering really is best and the reason for that is that it covers the mouth, nose and fits securely, so that’s really important in reducing the likelihood of being able to transfer the virus.

They’re not the same as PPE which those in healthcare and social care work but the face coverings are really useful in helping to stop you transfer the virus, so that’s why we recommend they’re worn and indeed they’re mandatory on public transport, shops and hospitality settings when you’re not sitting at a table or in other areas where social distancing is not possible.

However, you should remember that if you’re wearing one and you’re in a public space, then you should try and maintain social distancing. It’s not an either all, it’s a package of measures. If you use a reusable face covering, please make sure that you wash them every day. My advise is that you should treat reusable face coverings rather the way you treat your knickers, you’ve got to make sure it’s one-wearing and you wash them thoroughly and dry them.

What support is there for local businesses including those that have had to close?

We know that this is a really difficult time especially under tier 3 restrictions for a lot of our indepednent retailers. So we’re working really hard in the council to make sure that all of our local businesses receive as much support as possible and our business engagement team is on hand to answer any queries and provide guidance.

We’ve been very pro-active over the last recent months ensuring the money that we’ve received as part of government support packages has been distributed to businesses as quickly as possible,

As a council we’ll be launching a support local campaign in the coming weeks to encourage all of us to shop local and support our small businesses through the pandemic, so let’s try and invest in our local busineses as much as possible. Funding and final guidance for businesses affected by tier two and three restrictions haven’t been relesed yet by the government, however we’re working in the council to ensure that is a full process is in place to allow businesses to apply and receive funding as soon as we’re in a position to do so as soon as we get that guidance and indeed that funding from government to distribute.

There are many coronavirus tests on the market, how reliable are they from identiying Covid-19 from other coronaviruses?

The only coronavirus test you should access is the official test which has been designed to identify Covid-19, so it’s a very special test. You should only book a test if you experience symptoms. The main symptoms of Covid-19 are loss or change in your sense of taste or smell, that’s a really key symptom, a high temperature, and/or if you have a normal cough and it changes then you should think about that.

You can ask for a home kit to be delivered or you can head to a nearby test centre.

Now we actually have a local testing centre in Wigan, you can book a test online, search either the Wigan Council website or the government website for more information. But if you want to access our local test site then go through the Wigan Council website to do that.

Why are GP surgeries not open to see patients, if hospitals are open our GP surgeries should be too? Why are we relying on apps and photographs to engage?

Well all our GP surgeries are very busy at the moment. They’re busier than normal with more people seeking their help and they’re meeting the extra demand despite the pandemic. Most practices are only asking patients to come to the building when the have a book appointment and that’s the difference.

This is to keep people safe and reduce the number of people standing or waiting in waiting rooms for obvious reasons. It’s about not being in a crowded space in a waiting room where you could potentially come into contact with coronavirus, but GPs are seeing patients face-to-face whenever it’s needed to help diagnose and treat.

They have always been offering face-to-face appointments where that is abolutely the appropiate clinical thing to do.

However they are helping people over the phone or over the internet, again when it’s appropriate. The feedback my colleagues in primary care have had on the new approaches from patients has been overall extremely positive.