Liverpool City Region COVID-19 Updates

Save Southport's red telephone boxes

A Councillor is calling for the 2 historic red telephone boxes next to Southport Town Hall to be preserved as part of the Town�s heritage. Town Centre Councillor, Sir Ron Watson, instead wants to see them being repaired and restored as a critical part of Britain�s great telecommunications history, as the iconic structure celebrates its centenary. The 1st standard public telephone kiosk was introduced by the United Kingdom Post Office in 1921. In fact the very 1st box is now located outside the Liverpool Town Hall!

Created by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and Battersea Power Station, the red telephone box was in 2006 voted as 1 of Britain's top 10 design icons alongside the Supermarine Spitfire, the Mini and the London tube map.

Cllr Sir Ron Watson will raise the issue at the full Sefton Council meeting, on Thursday, 22 April 2021. He has submitted a question which asks:- "Is the Leader of the Council aware that the two iconic red telephone boxes outside Southport Town Hall are due to be sold by auction at the end of the month? Does he agree with me that these iconic structures should be refurbished, repainted and made secure, as they form an important part of our heritage? Would he confirm that he will contact immediately those responsible for seeking to sell off this important historical asset and to investigate ways in which some element of Council funding perhaps through some of the amounts available from the old Southport Area Committee budgets form part of a financial package?"

He is hoping that support from his Council colleagues could help to save the iconic structures. Cllr Sir Ron Watson said:- "I understand that there are what I hope are only tentative suggestions that these structures be removed, but they really represent a significant part of our heritage and not to have them in place as an historical reminder of our communications past really would be a very great shame and would be regretted by very many people. Whilst I accept that there might be some marginal cost involved in removing the existing equipment and replacing the glass with material that is vandal proof, I think that they would need to be locked and secured. The fairly obvious point in addition to this is that they should be repainted in the red colour that has been a feature of street life for many years. There will be many people for whom 'press button B' will still resonate, but it would also be helpful for the younger generation to be able to view what has been a critical part of telecommunications. I understand that these structures are currently being offered for sale but I think this should be stopped in the hope that voluntary bodies with an interest in preservation and our heritage could liaise with Sefton Council and the GPO owners to see if a joint co-operative scheme could be agreed. I very much hope that this concept will be taken onboard by the relevant people concerned and I would personally be prepared as a local Councillor for the area to agree to a funding allocation from the very small amount of money over which we have some direct input in terms of spending even if the word for word criteria for such schemes were in any doubt. We are on the brink of an outstanding range of improvements to our Town through the hard work of the Southport Town Deal Board and our Member of Parliament, Damien Moore MP, and the added touch that this would give to the area could also be regarded as giving added value. I would also make a plea at the same time to review what I consider to be an arbitrary decision to repaint the Town Hall in a cream colour rather than restore it as the local addition of our very own �White House�. Once again there is a small additional cost, but if you take the amount that has been rumoured to be applicable and spread it out over a 10 year period it works out at under �2 per week and for a Council that spends as much as Sefton does an internal adjustment along the lines I have indicated really should be feasible if the will is present."

1st patient dosed in latest stage of AGILE Covid19 drug trial

THE University of Liverpool, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and the NIHR Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, at the University of Southampton, have announced the 1st ever patient dosed in the latest trial of potential new treatments for SARS-CoV-2 as part of the UK�s Covid19 drug testing platform, AGILE.

Chief Investigator for the trial, Professor Saye Khoo, said:- "The past year has seen enormous progress in vaccines and the use of immune therapies for treating severe Covid19. However, the search for effective antiviral agents to protect against the development of severe disease is as pressing and urgent as ever. We are excited to partner with GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology in the evaluation of VIR-7832, a monoclonal antibody engineered to potentially increase potency and stimulate a T cell response. We will evaluate the safety of this new drug, which also appears, in pre-clinical testing, to stand up to the major circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK and look for early signals of antiviral activity and enhanced immune response to infection."

AGILE is a clinical trial platform supported by the UK Government that uses adaptable protocols and statistical models to design clinical trials in a fast and flexible way that will simultaneously test safety and efficacy in people who are ill. This ground breaking collaboration aims to rapidly identify therapies that have the potential to be used to treat Covid19 patients and bring them into early phase clinical trials.

The latest AGILE clinical trial, taking place at:- NIHR Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility (CRF), involves:- 2 monoclonal antibody therapies (VIR-7831 and VIR-7832) from:- GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology, which in pre-clinical studies have demonstrated promising results in combating Coronavirus infections.

The latest candidate to be tested, VIR-7832, will be given to patients who have tested positive for Covid19 and have mild to moderate symptoms. Based on pre-clinical data, VIR-7832 has 3 potential mechanisms of action: it can neutralise the virus; target already infected cells for destruction by our immune system; and importantly, it can stimulate a T cell response that can further control the infection. These attributes may be important for both the treatment and prevention of Covid19. The AGILE study marks the 1st in human phase 1 trial of VIR-7832, which aims to establish an optimal dose. When established, the trial will seamlessly move into a second phase with another monoclonal antibody (VIR-7831) which is already being evaluated in 2 Phase 3 clinical trials.

The trial is currently open in Liverpool and Southampton and will extend to other CRF sites across the UK.

George Scangos, Ph.D., CEO of Vir Biotechnology, said:- �We are pleased to partner with the AGILE network to determine whether the modifications we have made to VIR-7832 to increase its potency and stimulate a T cell response may have the potential to confer a vaccine like effect and support both enhanced treatment efficacy and a long term prevention strategy. We look forward to applying these lessons to our ongoing and future efforts to address this challenging Pandemic.�

Christopher Corsico, Senior Vice President Development, GSK, said:- �We continue to see high infection and hospitalization rates due to COVID-19, despite the continued progress with vaccine development and distribution and increasing immunization rates. Therefore, we believe monoclonal antibodies will continue to complement vaccines as an important and effective tool in the fight against Covid19. We are proud to be working with the UK Government as part of the AGILE trial platform to further understand the role of therapeutics in both the treatment and possible prevention of Covid19, with the support of our partners in the NHS and academia.�

Dr Richard Fitzgerald, Director of the NIHR Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility based at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said:- "We are really pleased to begin this trial in our Clinical Research Facility, an MHRA accredited unit with vast experience in conducting 1st in human trials, and we are looking forward to expanding this trial into other CRF sites across the UK in the coming months."

The AGILE trial platform was launched in July 2020, and the 1st treatment in the drug testing platform entered into patient trials in Liverpool, in September. The collaboration includes research teams from the:- University of Liverpool, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, NIHR Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility based at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, the NIHR Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, at the:- University of Southampton, Lancaster University and the UK Clinical Research Facility Network.

To find out more about AGILE, click here.

Government proposes taller mobile phone masts to boost rural coverage

THE Government is proposing law changes that will allow mobile phone masts to be increased in size to boost coverage in rural areas. Under the proposals, mobile companies will be allowed to make new and existing masts up to 5 metres taller and 2 metres wider than current rules permit. This is set to increase the range of masts and allow operators to fit more equipment on them so they can be more easily shared.

Mark Bridgeman, President of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) which represents 28,000 rural businesses across England and Wales, said:- "We welcome this announcement as a positive step towards improving mobile coverage in rural areas. We know that better digital connectivity is a key enabler for broader economic success. The rural economy is 18% less productive than the national average, with the countryside missing out on billions of pounds and hundreds of thousands of jobs as a result. Better mobile coverage will help to close the productivity gap, helping to create a more prosperous rural economy."

The move is set to propel the delivery of the �1bn Shared Rural Network, which is being built to eliminate 4G mobile:- "not spots" within the countryside and to speed up the rollout of next generation 5G networks. Stricter rules will apply in protected areas including national parks, the Norfolk Broads, conservation areas, areas of outstanding natural beauty and world heritage sites. The plans also include proposals to bring better mobile coverage for road users by allowing building based masts to be placed nearer to highways. You can read the announcement in full here.

Total UK cases Covid19 cases in and around Liverpool City Region

THE total number of UK Coronavirus (Covid19) infections that have been laboratory confirmed, within the UK, has risen by:- 2,524 cases and the total number now stand at:- 4,393,307 that includes tests carried out by commercial partners which are not included in the 4 National totals.

The total number of Covid19 associated UK fatalities added to the total, was sadly reported to be:- 33 within 28 days of positive test, according to the Department of Health. The total number of deaths of people who have had a positive test result confirmed by a Public Health or NHS laboratory is:- 127,307, within 28 days of positive test. Deaths with Covid19 on the death certificate:- 150,841.

The number of Covid19 patients currently in UK Hospitals:- 1,973. The current number of Covid19 patients currently in mechanical ventilation beds in UK Hospitals:- 318 Daily number of Covid19 patients admitted to UK Hospitals:- 192.

In England, there are a total of:- 3,839,002 confirmed cases. North West - total of:- 604,269 confirmed cases.

The number of laboratory confirmed cases within the Liverpool City Region are as follows:-

Area and number of confirmed cases:- Risen by:-
Liverpool City Region

Nation Lockdown

National UK Restrictions

► Liverpool, 48,397 confirmed cases.
10

► Halton, 11,921 confirmed cases. 0

► Knowsley, 17,349 confirmed cases. 0

► Sefton, 23,856 confirmed cases. 11

► St. Helens, 17,033 confirmed cases. 2

► Wirral, 24,233 confirmed cases.
5

Colour Key:- 0 1 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 100 100 to 199 200 & over

Daily reported Covid19 deaths are now measured across the UK as deaths that occurred within 28 days of the 1st laboratory confirmed positive Covid19 test. Daily and cumulative numbers of Covid19 patients admitted to Hospital. Data are not updated every day by all 4 nations and the figures are not comparable as Wales include suspected Covid19 patients while the other nations include only confirmed cases.

Total UK people who have received Vaccination

1st Dose 2nd Dose

33,032,120 10,425,790

Jab Stats correct as of:- 19 April 2021

The Vaccination programme began on 8 December 2020 with people receiving the Vaccine developed by Pfizer / BioNTech, and people began receiving the Oxford University / AstraZeneca Vaccine from 4 January 2021. Both Vaccine s are given as 2 doses, at lEast 21 days apart, for a full Vaccination course.