Star date: 17th May 2021

A WHIFF OF FREEDOM AS RESTRICTIONS ARE EASED

Salford has 7 new coronavirus cases, down from the previous day's 14, while the seven day rate per 100,000 population now stands at 30.1, down from 30.9. There have been no new virus-related deaths announced by Salford Royal Hospital.

Today sees restrictions eased and the first whiff of freedom in over a year. It's also the final coronavirus bulletin from the Salford Star which is closing. Here we look back over 14 months of the pandemic and the absolute communication failings of Salford City Council and its City Mayor.

Full details here...

Salford has 7 new coronavirus cases, down from the previous day's 14, bringing the cumulative total of cases to 23,462. The seven day average of cases in Salford is now 78, down from 80, while the seven day rate per 100,000 population now stands at 30.1, down from 30.9.
 
Elsewhere in Greater Manchester the seven day average of cases in Bury is 42 (up from 40), with a seven day rate per 100,000 population of 22 (up from 20.9); Bolton 733 (up from 657), with a rate of 254.9 (up from 228.5); Manchester 255 (down from 259), with a rate of 46.1 (down from 46.8); and Oldham 59 (down from 62), with a rate of 24.9 (down from 26.1).

Rochdale has a seven day average of cases of 101 (down from 111), with a seven day rate of 45.4 (down from 49.9); Stockport 91 (down from 106), with a rate of 31 (down from 36.1); Tameside 78 (same), with a rate of 34.4 (same); Trafford 64 (down from 70), with a rate of 27 (down from 29.5); and Wigan 113 (up from 104), with a rate of 34.4 (up from 31.6).

There have been no new virus-related deaths announced by Salford Royal Hospital.

Today, May 17th, sees a major lifting of restrictions which allows drinks and food to be served indoors, theatres, cinemas and sports venues to re-open and holidays to approved places to start.

The full easing of restrictions include...

Six people or two households can meet indoors and can stay overnight. People can meet outdoors in groups of thirty, and groups of thirty can attend weddings and support groups. Care home residents can have up to five named visitors.

Pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants are now allowed to serve indoors, and indoor entertainment venues like museums, cinemas and children's play areas can re-open, as can indoor exercise classes, sports stadiums and saunas. Universities can return to in-person teaching and face coverings don't have to be worn by pupils in secondary schools.  Hotels can also re-open and people can travel to countries listed as 'green' without having to quarantine on return.

Today is the precursor to 21st June, when, if all the Government's measures are met, all restrictions will be lifted...

This is the final coronavirus bulletin from the Salford Star, which closes permanently from today. The publication was due to close last May 2020 but was kept open specifically to inform the community during the pandemic.

Every single day throughout the coronavirus crisis the Star has published official figures on cases, case rates, deaths and all medical advice in the most objective way possible. This despite not one single piece of information being supplied to us by Salford City Council or any health authority in the city.

At the very start of the pandemic the Star contacted all the health authorities in Salford asking for interviews, so we could pass on health advice and information to the community. They either didn't respond or directed us to Salford Council, which hasn't spoken to the Star for over seven years.

We found it absolutely staggering that the Council put its weird media war before the health of its own community...in the biggest health emergency during anyone's lifetime.

We wanted to interview doctors, nurses, public health officials to inform the community and our 40,000 monthly readers about what was happening on the ground. We wanted MPs, councillors, the City Mayor and the Public Health Team to take some kind of lead but there was nothing forthcoming. Literally nothing.

On 11th March 2020, with the world already panicking about the new virus there was zero on Salford Council's website except a link to the Government website. Meanwhile Salford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) had the risk as 'low', and the Salford NHS had the risk as 'moderate'. The Star ran the headline 'No Salford Leadership on Coronavirus' as a wake-up call to the leaders.

In September 2020, with the second wave starting in the city, yet again the Council and City Mayor said almost nothing..."Now surely is the time for the Council to publish daily figures of where outbreaks are occurring and all other information it has, as the community looks for some kind of leadership" the Star pleaded.

All that could be seen in the public domain from City Mayor Paul Dennett were endless tweets showing him riding his bike around the city..."Salford Council and its out-of-his-depth City Mayor are not speaking directly to the community about the pandemic at all" the Star wrote "Neither are they releasing any information about outbreaks and testing, the two most asked questions to the Salford Star.

"...If people knew how the virus was affecting their community daily, they might be more likely to abide by the current rules around social distancing and mixing households" the article added "As it stands, there is no leadership in Salford, apart from social media sceptics pouring out conspiracy theories and misinformation..."

A week later the Mayor finally did something, putting out a letter and video to residents calling on them to 'protect each other'..."With Salford Council and its Mayor finally kicked into action, many residents are wondering whether it's too horses and stable doors late; that these sorts of messages should have been given out weeks ago" the Star wrote...

In contrast, Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, finally invited the Star to his weekly coronavirus press briefings (after not communicating with us for three years) where information was given out on a Greater Manchester wide basis.

This, and the official Government and Public Health England statistics, were the only sources of information. And it was revealed last July that only half the virus cases (Pillar One) had been disclosed, which was one of the biggest scandals during the crisis.

Meanwhile, back in Salford, how many cases were there in our schools? How many schools were closed or partially closed through the pandemic?  Which areas of the city had the most cases? None of this information was being shared.

Salford City Council's Cabinet hadn't even discussed COVID-19 on its agenda at all, apart from anti-social behaviour on Salford Quays in July. The Star wrote that "Minutes of these meetings show that the crisis was not even brought up under Any Other Business by the most senior politicians in the city, other than a note about the launch of the Spirit of Salford helpline back in March."

So, for the first nine months of the pandemic, there was virtually nothing coming out of Salford Council as it kept a tight control of all information. It's only been relatively recently that weekly statistics and messages from the Salford Public Health Team have appeared on the Council's website, and since the vaccine good news rollout that politicians have become more visible and vocal.

So in summary, the coronavirus communication from authorities in Salford has been atrocious; the politicians have shown themselves completely out of their depth and it was left to the community and ace new community groups that sprung up to get to grips with the crisis, delivering food, medicines and other practical help to the vulnerable at the start of the pandemic.

As the restrictions are eased and the Salford Star closes, a look back over the last 14 months leaves a really nasty taste in the mouth – and not just from endless lateral flow tests...

This is the final coronavirus bulletin from the Salford Star – to get daily figures on cases see the Government website – click here 

For a full background on the Salford Star closure - click here and follow the links in the article

Main photo by Louise Garman