PEOPLE in Oldham are being told today to act now, to reduce the spread of Coronavirus and stop a local lockdown being imposed.
Additional measures were put in place in the borough two weeks ago, to help stop the spread. But since then, the numbers of positive cases have continued to increase.
Latest figures, for the week ending 8 August, show there have been 255 new cases in Oldham, which is a rate of 107.5 cases per 100,000 people. The week prior to this, there were 137 cases, which is a rate of 57.8 per 100,000.
When Government imposed a local lockdown on Leicester, their cases were at 135 per 100,000. If numbers continue to increase in this way, Oldham could face a second lockdown very soon.
This could mean the closure local services and businesses such as gyms and leisure centres, libraries, restaurants, bars and non-essential shops. These businesses are only just beginning to recover after the last period of lockdown and desperately need your support.
Councillor Arooj Shah, Deputy Leader of Oldham Council and cabinet member for Covid-19 recovery, said: “We know people in Oldham have, on the whole, been behaving responsibly and abiding by the Coronavirus restrictions.
“But Coronavirus has not gone away – and rates are now rising. To avoid a second lockdown, there is no time to lose. We need everyone to act now and make changes to the way they live, to prevent strict lockdown restrictions being implemented in the coming days or weeks.
“Figures are showing us that cases are rising here in Oldham in all areas, in all age groups, and in all communities. We are all at risk of this terrible virus and it is our responsibility to protect ourselves, our friends and wider society by obeying this tougher guidance and acting responsibly.”
The best way to stop the spread of the virus is to limit contact with others. People in Oldham are now being reminded:
- Limit the number of people you have contact with and work from home where possible
- DO NOT have visitors to your home or garden
- If you must meet people from outside your household, you must do so in an outdoor location, maintaining social distancing and avoiding physical contact
- When visiting shops and when on public transport or in other enclosed or crowded spaces, you should wear a mask.
- Avoid touching your face and wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds.
People are also being asked to help protect those who are more vulnerable. Although those who are younger, or without underlying health conditions, may feel that Coronavirus does not present a major risk to their health, their actions could put others at risk.
Those with symptoms of Coronavirus must isolate and book a test as soon as possible. People who test positive must isolate for ten days, while others in the household must isolate for 14 days as symptoms can take a while to appear.
Visit www.oldham.gov.uk/coronavirus for the most up to date guidance, or call the dedicated Coronavirus helpline, available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm on 0161 770 7007.
To book a Coronavirus test go to https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-
Why are bars open all night ??? Rochdale council letting KoKo las open ??? That’s a club , so angry ? absolutely ridiculous! Police not interested all the council !! What are we supposed to do ? A lot of pubs no social distances !! My family lots jobs it’s been devastating,
Stop reporting scare stories, it is becoming clearer and clearer that part of of not the majority of the increase is due to am increase in testing. It’s simple, test more – find more. Let’s start to present the facts of positive cases per 100k tests rather than per 100k people. And even then this is not random sample testing which would show a probable decline.
If I test 1000 people and 10 are positive this is the same as testing 100,000 people and 1000 positive. Yet the media wants to jump on the huge increase from 10 to 1000.
Having read the official stats I cant agree with the statement it is all areas all communities. If this is being suggested to central government then it is incorrectly portraying what is going on in our borough. Why is that?