Statement from the Leader calling for a local coordinated approach to Covid

8 October 2020

Today at Full Council, Preston City Council Leader, Council Matthew Brown called for a locally-led, coordinated approach to testing and track and trace, engaging partners across the public sector, including all tiers of government and the NHS.

The Leader outlined his belief that the current system is inefficient and the delays to information being shared to the local level result in preventable delays to contact being made with individuals who need to self-isolate, which then results in further spread of the virus.

We are proud of our involvement and the local support we have provided to the national track and trace system to date.

Since we have taken on this role, we have received around 300 local contacts a week and conducted over 100 home visits to those with whom contact could not be made in other ways.

It is a demanding task that has required staff to be urgently re-purposed and as such we are grateful for the small amount of funding that has been providing to support this.

Similarly, we have worked very closely with the Public Health team at Lancashire County Council to facilitate well-run, adaptive local community testing sites which have processed thousands of tests for our residents despite a crisis in the national testing system. With the closure of the community sites I am highly concerned that we need to be able to ensure that there is sufficient capacity for our residents, but also that facilities in Preston are available for drop-in and open to asymptomatic individuals given the high rates of infection across the city.