Metro Mayors’ joint plea to government on vital coronavirus testing data

The Government must fulfill its legal requirement to give local authorities detailed information on coronavirus testing to help them avoid lockdowns, such as in Leicester.

That was the call from the Liverpool and Greater Manchester Metro Mayors, Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham, in a joint online press conference today.

The Government changed the law in March to make coronavirus a notifiable disease, which means local authorities can demand information on positive COVID tests to help them pinpoint problems as early as possible and avoid putting areas into lockdown again.

But the two mayors say local authorities are only receiving postcodes of those identified as COVID-positive, and on a weekly basis.

They said this needs to change to include individual post codes, and their work post codes to stamp out any potential flare-ups of the virus.

This is essential given warnings today that the UK could face up to 120,000 coronavirus deaths from a second wave of the virus this Winter.

Andy Burnham said: “The Government changed the law to make this an identifiable disease. Having changed the law the Government aren’t observing the law. We are getting it (data) on a weekly basis and that isn’t good enough. We want daily, high-quality information.”

He said concerns the two regions raised with government five weeks ago on the ‘R number’ and infection rates have still not been addressed.

“Over recent weeks the flow of information from national to local level has improved, and we are grateful for that, but councils are not receiving test data that can be attributed to a specific person.

“Patient identification data is crucial to get a grip on a local outbreak. It lets you go directly to the source.

“Councils in Greater Manchester are asking for personal identification test results on a daily basis. We need names and not just postcodes, and it is entirely consistent with government policy.

“It is a legal requirement to provide this information after the law was changed to notify councils.

“We want home post codes, and work post codes, because we think it is more likely that they are picking it up at work.”

Steve Rotheram added: “We don’t want to see lockdowns imposed. We want information as tools to prevent that happening.”

The two mayors also called for the Government to work with them to provide targeted help for people coming off furlough schemes.

They suggest the Chancellor’s policy of giving companies £1,000 for every person they re-employ after furlough should be targeted at those facing the threat of redundancy, instead.

Andy Burnham said the Government’s proposals would hand £250m to companies where staff would return to work as normal anyway. He said: “We want a voluntary scheme to pay that money into a fund at city region level to people coming off furlough who are unikely to keep their jobs.”

He also said the furlough scheme should be extended for industries affected more by the virus than others, such as aviation, or the live events sector.

Steve Rotheram cited the tourism economy, so vital to Liverpool, as an example: “The visitor economy needs to be nurtured, teased and helped. You can’t just pull the covers off and say get on with it.”

And he urged the Government to work with the city regions more closely to deliver support programmes: “We are mechanisms designed by a Tory government, so they should be using us better.

“Councils are pivotal to our future prosperities. Councils are not just for fixing pot holes and emptying bins.”

Asked about the Government’s new policy to encourage the wearing of face coverings they both felt it was long overdue.

Steve Rotheram said: “The Government has let us down, saying there is going to be face coverings but it’s by the end of next week.

“It’s an announcement that catches the headlines, then there’s confusion about who supports it in government or not. We need guidance.

“This is a wasted period of weeks and weeks.”

He explained: “If I wear a face mask I protect you, if you wear one you protect me, if we all wear one we all protect each other.”