Island Labour has asked the Isle of Wight Council to publish its contingency plans for combating the spread of the coronavirus and protecting vulnerable Islanders.
With a large elderly population, the Isle of Wight will need robust preparation for any escalation of the virus. Actions taken to combat the virus’s spread may also lead to difficulties for those with children of school age should the decision be taken to close schools for an extended period.
On Saturday night, it was confirmed that 1 person on the Isle of Wight had tested positive for coronavirus. However, there has been huge secrecy around who that person is, where they live, who they had come into contact with and how they managed to get back to the Island following a foreign trip.
Island Echo understands the individual to be a local woman who had only just returned from holiday.
Julian Critchley, Chair of Island Labour, has said:
“It would be useful to know what contingency plans the council is putting in place to maintain adult social care for those Islanders who rely on the services, in the event of significant staff sickness, particularly as many of those relying on social care will be in high-risk groups.
“Island Labour also understands that national school closures are looking more likely in the next few weeks. Again, it would be useful to know what plans the council has to ensure that children who receive free school meals will not go hungry if their school is forced to close for any length of time.
“Obviously, we’re all hoping that the worst predictions won’t come to pass. However, some disruption seems increasingly likely, and undoubtedly the council is already planning for it, in order to minimise risks to Islanders. After a number of conversations with anxious Islanders, I think it would help ease minds if key contingency plans could be set out as soon as possible.
Article continues below this advertisement “It will be important, over this difficult time, to recognise that vulnerable groups will still require help and support, and their families will be relieved to know how the council proposes to provide that support.”
Also a statement is needed on which establishments have been ‘deep cleaned’, if any !
Why are people so not in to wanting to no…. can’t make it out or they are just scared to no the truth
For a start, doctors have to keep quiet about patients, also I do not need to know the exact locality, saying it is on the island is enough. I shall keep the same cleaning routine where ever I am. As a vulnerable OAP I do not need the panic involved if everybody goes mad and empties the shelves because it is in my town. It is already a game of Russian roulette for me if I have to go out.
The island should be given vital details of every case-gender-age-location etc…. we have a right to no it could be someone living next door to us
……..,,,,,,,WASH YOUR HANDS……….,,
Let say you contracted corona virus, would you be happy for this to be shared?
I think we all have a right to know what part of the island this person is from. And also what ferry they were on coming back to the island so who ever was on it can just be aware if they get any symptoms. It’s not scaremongering it’s just giving out useful info to the public to keep people safe we have some very vounrable people on this island that we need to keep safe
@carer86
that is absolute garbage – all you would be doing is sentencing that individual to possible abuse by others and they will be treated like a leper.
This virus is free running and has already been found in air conditioning units in a hospital in europe -it is easily moved around through the air – this means you may have caught this already from being in the supermarket or just walking around town.
Naming individuals is just plain stupid.
would you also like the infected to wear a bell that indicates they are coming so others can run away.
Yes I would cause of infecting others
“it could be someone living next door to us”
What difference does that make,.. that’s just scaremongering
Unless you share a door handle with your neighbours (or have more intimate contact with them) & if you do,.. just wash your hand afterwards (as you probably should anyway,.. covid-19 isn’t the only thing that can be caught that way,.. it’s the same for flu, colds etc)
Pfff it is none of yours or anyones business who is sick anymore than with a normal viral infection.
People need to calm down. People that worry like this ARE the problem.
The Identity of the person (inc. gender, age etc), is irrelevant
But the only reliable way of identifying who they may have come into contact with is if locations & times of the movement of the known infected persons, prior to testing, is published.
Most people know where they were & when they were there,.. others (e.g. the infected person, or management of establishments they may have visited) won’t have a clue who else was there.
Surely the house should have a huge CV sign on the gate or door, so the Postman, milkman, double glazing salesman and Jehova’s Witnesses can avoid?
This is nothing to be ashamed of like nits, this is so others can save their life by avoiding the infected, and more importantly by not catching it to spread it to others to die needlessly.
No one is asking for the name and address of anyone infected. People just want to know certain things, the ferry used, and what town etc. So much confusion still. If even health care professionals are catching it, with all the stringent precautions they take. then what hope for the rest of us, with a bit of hand washing and wearing flimsy paper masks in public, a mentally deficient man was continually coughing into the air on bus yesterday early evening, whilst waggling his head around and laughing. It is one thing to try to rely on the general public but to expect someone with extreme learning difficulties or the type of ignorant people who are too selfish and thoughtless to care, (of which there are many), what hope is there?
So many elderly people living alone with no family or friends to know how they are. If they feel ill and are told to self isolate, don’t contact doctors, don’t do what people would normally do if alone and vulnerable, who to get shopping for them? Who to even know if they died?
I hope there is world condemnation for these cruel practices of the way the animals have been treated in those markets in China which is what has caused this virus in the first place. Inside Science on Radio 4 yesterday said the same thing, it is people who have caused this, by their treatment of animals, kept in small cages crammed together to be taken home to be killed, species of animals that usually would come into no contact with each other, that is what has caused this,and now the whole world is suffering for it.