Liverpool City Region COVID-19 Updates

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Anti Vax and mask protesters ignore requests to stay away leading to 13 arrests and more to follow

IN Liverpool City Centre, on 21 November 2020, Anti Vax and mask protesters ignored advice from Merseyside Police and requests from local people to say away. In a statment Merseyside Police Press Office said:- "We would like to thank the people of Liverpool for their patience as we dealt with a group of people who gathered in the City Centre today. The group moved around the City Centre from around 1pm and a total of 13 people were arrested on suspicion of offences including public order offences and breaches of Coronavirus legislation. Officers also issued 25 fixed penalty notices for breach of Covid legislation and 10 dispersal notices. A 36 year old man, from Kirkby, was arrested on suspicion of assault of an emergency worker after a Police Officer was pushed to the chest on Church Street. 4 were arrested on suspicion of encouraging or assisting the commission of Covid offences, 5 people were arrested on suspicion of breaching Covid legislation, 1 was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence, and 2 were arrested for failing to provide their name and address after breaching Covid legislation."

Merseyside Police Chief Superintendent Ngaire Waine said:- �The vast majority of people in Merseyside have made huge sacrifices since March, missing weddings, funerals and family celebrations in an effort to halt the spread of Coronavirus. We have seen infection rates driven down in Merseyside thanks to the commitment of so many people, and already more than 140,000 have taken part in a mass testing pilot here in Merseyside to help the national effort to protect life and get back to normality. They are a credit to this county. So it will be incredibly frustrating for all those people to see that a minority of selfish individuals chose to flout laws brought in to protect the lives of people across Merseyside, putting our communities and themselves at risk. More than 50,000 people have died with Coronavirus in the UK and there is a responsibility on us all to do everything within our power to prevent more. We all want to get back to normality as soon as possible, but the actions of those people who gathered in Liverpool today risk delaying that return and prolonging the suffering of so many. This Pandemic has, understandably, left many fearful of contracting and passing on Coronavirus. The sight of a large group in the city centre will alarm many who are now well aware of the risk large groups can pose to the spreading of this virus. We introduced a Section 34 Dispersal Zone in the City Centre, and deployed significant resources into the City to ensure we could deal with this gathering, encouraging those involved to disperse and taking enforcement action against those committing flagrant breaches of Covid legislation; particularly those suspected to have organised the gathering. Their actions have posed a significant risk to public health, and we will continue to study CCTV and bodycam to identify offenders and bring them to justice. We have arrested 15 people so far and dispersed many more. Our Officers; deployed to encourage people to do the right thing and to carry our enforcement to protect the public; have been subjected to mindless abuse from many of those gathered, but continued to carry out their duties with complete professionalism. I want to take this opportunity to thank the public, our partners, NHS staff, emergency services and our own frontline Officers, who are doing all they can to help protect us all. I know the vast majority of the public will support us as we continue to take action against those who choose to deliberately break the law."

Public health funding boost needed to fuel post Pandemic recovery

VITAL public health services such as drug and alcohol treatment, early years and School aged support, weight management and sexual health services need urgent investment in the Spending Review if the country is to fully recover from the effects of the Pandemic, Councils say today. The Local Government Association, which represents Councils responsible for public health, says Covid19 has exposed existing health inequalities which need to be levelled up if we are to protect our communities in future.

The virus has disproportionately impacted certain groups of people, such as those who are overweight or obese, diabetic or with other physical and mental health conditions. It is clear that by intervening earlier and helping to prevent some of these conditions from developing in the 1st place, more lives could have been saved. The LGA says next week's Spending Review is an opportunity to address this divide by reversing the ₤700 million of public health funding reductions experienced by Councils over the past 5 years. Every pound invested by Government in Council run services such as public health helps to relieve pressure on other services like the NHS and the criminal justice system, while also proving to be 3 to 4 times more cost effective in improving people's health than money spent in the NHS. Combined savings from the cost of drug and alcohol treatment alone amount to ₤2.4 billion every year, leading to savings in crime, health and social care. Meanwhile, 40% of avoidable deaths are as a result of:- tobacco, obesity, inactivity and alcohol harm.

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the LGA's Community Wellbeing Board, said:- �Councils' public health teams have been leading the local response to Coronavirus, all while trying to keep essential services like drug and alcohol treatment running on limited resources. We cannot expect public health services to continue to meet rising demand, especially in the wake of the pandemic, without the extra resources to back this up. The Government wants to increase healthy life expectancy by an extra five years by 2035, but we need the preventative measures in place now to make that happen. If we are to finally tackle the country's long standing health inequalities and create happier, healthier and more resilient communities, we need to start investing in these vital services now to meet the upcoming challenges post pandemic."

Among the longer term asks of Government which the LGA is calling for are as follows:-

► The creation of a Healthy Communities Fund to support coordinated, community led action and ensure that decisions in areas such as housing, employment and transport planning are all held to account in having a positive impact on health, such as:- encouraging walking and cycling, reducing carbon emissions and designing cleaner, greener environments.

► Dedicated prevention funding to allow Councils to help prevent people falling into ill health, such as weight loss classes, the NHS health check, information and advice campaigns. This could also be used by Councils to help support each other in finding new and improved ways to reach out to residents, such as expanding home testing and web based delivery in sexual health and contraception services.

► Investment in early intervention and support for children's health, including a Government commitment to expand the Healthy Child Programme workforce, which provides families with valuable advice on health, wellbeing and parenting alongside help with screening and immunisation.

► Government should invest some of the existing alcohol duty revenue to fund alcohol treatment, similar to the approach already used in gambling, where there is a levy on operators used to fund research, education and treatment.

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:- 19,875 cases and the total number now stand at:- 1,493,383 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:- 341, 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:- 54,626, within 28 days of positive test. Deaths with Covid19 on the death certificate:- 63,873.

The number of Covid19 patients currently in UK Hospitals:- 16,390. The current number of Covid19 patients currently in mechanical ventilation beds in UK Hospitals:- 1,421 Daily number of Covid19 patients admitted to UK Hospitals:- 1,682.

In England, there are a total of:- 1,284,891 confirmed cases over the whole Pandemic. North West - total of:- 291,077 confirmed cases over the whole Pandemic.

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

Area and number of confirmed cases:- Risen by:-

National UK Lockdown

LOCKDOWN

Liverpool City Region

► Liverpool, 23,385 confirmed cases.
110

► Halton, 4,442 confirmed cases.
27

► Knowsley, 7,587 confirmed cases. 35

► Sefton, 10,146 confirmed cases.
54

► St. Helens, 7,315 7,211 confirmed cases.
104

► Wirral, 9,642 confirmed cases.

89

Colour Key:- 0 1 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to100 100 over

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

► Blackburn with Darwen, 9,091 confirmed cases.

► Blackpool, 4,930 confirmed cases.

► Bolton, 14,221 confirmed cases.

► Bury, 9,178 confirmed cases.

► Cheshire East, 8,367 confirmed cases.

► Cheshire West and Chester, 8,500 confirmed cases.

► Lancashire, 44,489 confirmed cases.

► Manchester, 29,653 confirmed cases.

► Oldham, 14,025 confirmed cases.

► Preston, 6,798 confirmed cases.

► Rochdale, 11,851 confirmed cases.

► Salford, 12,815 confirmed cases.

► Stockport, 9,950 confirmed cases.

► Tameside, 9,944 confirmed cases.

► Trafford, 8,335 confirmed cases.

► Warrington, 7,824 confirmed cases

► Wigan, 15,571 confirmed cases.

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.

The latest UK R number is estimated at:- 1 to 1.1 with a daily infection growth rate range of:- +0% to +2%.