Minutes:
The Executive Director Core Services introduced Carrie Abbot (Service Director Public Health and Regulation) and Paul Castle (Service Director Environment and Transport) who made a presentation giving an update of the current position with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Carrie Abbott gave an update on the pandemic itself, the challenges faced as well as the current position and Paul Castle gave an update on the recovery and response arrangements and the impact on local businesses and how this was being managed.
Ms Abbott presented information about the national and local position, the changes in testing arrangements as well as the progress of the vaccination programme and the local authority’s involvement in this.
In terms of the National Picture:
· the 7 day case rate in all age ranges had reduced to around 37 per 100,000 of the population and this was continuing to reduce
· deaths and hospitalisation were also reducing aided by the continued vaccination programme although the number of vaccinations was likely to slow down a little due to supply issues and the roll out of the second vaccination
· there were risks due to the re-opening of all schools for a longer term as well as the easing of restrictions which meant that transmission was likely to increase
In relation to the International Picture other countries were now entering their third wave of the pandemic which was a cause for concern though some of those had good vaccination programmes
In terms of the local picture:
· Barnsley was seeing a slow but persistent reduction in the number of cases across all ages along with a reassuring reduction in hospitalisations and deaths
· Excellent progress was being maintained in relation to the vaccination programme
· The local population was, however, still at a higher risk compared to many other places due to underlying chronic diseases and smoking as well as other risk factors so Barnsley was still within the ‘top 10’ in terms of numbers
· There was a need to remain cautious and stick to the national guidance
· There had been a steep climb in the number of infections across South and West Yorkshire but cases had come down to a 7 day rate of 95 per 100,000 and this was reassuring but still much higher than the national
· There was likely to be a mirroring of the national figures with a potential rise in infections as a result of schools reopening and the easing of restrictions and there was likely to be an increase in testing as a result
· The highest number of infections was in the 40-49 age group but it was anticipated that this distribution may shift again
· The increase in testing may impact on the understanding and interpretation of the data but the intelligence team was to keep an eye on this
· Hospitalisations and deaths remained low which was as anticipated but there was a need to avoid complacency
· In relation to testing:
o The position had changed rapidly and every adult in the country was now being encouraged to get tested twice a week and this complemented the suite of other measures introduced to tackle Covid in the borough including contact tracing, self isolation for those with positive test results and the hands, face, space, fresh air initiative
o There were a number of ways of accessing tests – the home ordering of tests from the website, work placed testing (onsite and off site), schools and colleges and local testing sites (County Way, the Dorothy Hyman Stadium Cudworth, the Summer Lane Car Park in Wombwell and the Metrodome). In addition, the ‘collect from pharmacies’ approach was becoming available shortly and approximately 50 pharmacies had agreed to participate to date
o Those with recognised symptoms were being encouraged to get a test
· In relation to vaccinations:
o Significant numbers in cohorts 1-9 had now been vaccinated and work was ongoing to encourage the small numbers who had not taken up the offer to become vaccinated
o Cohorts 10-12 were now being opened up and consideration was being given to how vaccination could be made more accessible and people encouraged to take up the vaccination offer
In the ensuing discussion the following matters were highlighted:
· Referring to the case rate per 100,000 of the population, it was not thought that information about false positivity rates was available locally, but this would be checked. The false positive rate would be the same for every local authority area and it would not, therefore, change the comparisons of cases within other authority areas. It was important, however, to look at the other data provided by the Government, namely hospitalisation rates, deaths and the progress of the vaccination programme. In addition, consideration would be given to the variance of concern and the extent to which that might impact the risk assessment of the situation. Whilst the case rate was important, there were, nevertheless, a number of other factors taken into account
· There was a discussion of the disparity in the number of cases between the east and the west of the borough and of the action being taken to address this. Particular reference was made to the borough wide initiatives including, the use of communications, the examination of the intelligence received in relation to communities and groups and the vaccination take up rate. Reference was also made to the work of the Area Teams, Neighbourhood Engagement Officers, Covid Marshalls and Public Health Teams.
· Arising out of the above, Mr Castle briefly reported on the contingency plan for new variant testing as required by the DHSE. This meant that a team would have to be deployed within 48 hours to test up to 10,000 people. The idea behind this was that there was then an ability to be able to secure an area, undertake required testing and thereby prevent the further spread of the disease
Mr Castle then gave a brief overview of the current position with regard to response and recovery:
· Governance arrangements were still in place to deal with the pandemic situation both within Barnsley and South Yorkshire
· Reference was made to the changes in lockdown arrangements that became effective from the 12th April, 2021 and plans were in place in relation to the next ‘easing’ of restrictions from the 17th May
· In relation to Barnsley:
o Town Centre foot fall had been very good following the easing of restrictions and on one day, 24,000 people had been in the Town Centre which was the highest since December 2019. This was particularly key for the local economy
o In terms of the visitor numbers and cultural locations, visitors had reached 105,000 and ‘attractions’ were very busy
o The Transport Interchange and bus and train patronage was considerably reduced compared to pre covid levels but this was expected to change as restrictions eased further
o Fly tipping had continued to be an issue and further work would be required to address this to bring the situation back to pre covid levels
· There were a range of 42 measures that were being monitored as a part of the recovery and response approach and it was hoped that this would give members assurance that appropriate measures and plans were in place
· The next key date would be the 17th May and the current key indicators would have to be kept under review so that plans could be prepared to address issues as and when they arose
· In relation to the Governance arrangements, the South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum was still meeting every two weeks and the Gold arrangements in Barnsley were still in place with meetings held weekly. The Tactical Co-ordination Group meetings were continuing to discuss response and recovery activities
· A recovery roadmap had been published from now until May and a link to this on the website would be provided. This roadmap outlined the key activities for re-opening society and detailed events going forward. A further ‘internal’ document had also been developed which detailed the activities in relation to recovery to the end of the year and this co-ordinated with the South Yorkshire version
A written response to a question asked by a Member of the Committee was provided. It was reported that additional Covid monitoring over the last year had estimated that 1,371 jobs were planned to be lost specifically due to Covid though final figures would not be available until later in the year, although on a positive note, a chart previously circulated detailed business start ups.
Notable key companies which had closed (but not necessarily covid related) and included the following:
o Sash – 200 jobs
o Kostal – 170 jobs
o Clyde Union Pumps – 98 jobs
o Tandano – 20 jobs
o Carlton Forrest – 10 jobs
RESOLVED that the update report be noted and Carrie Abbott and Paul Castle be thanked for attending the meeting and for answering Members questions.