Coronavirus business update: Latest news across the North West

A Cumbrian company has set up a service to deliver face masks direct to people’s doors, on the day it becomes law to wear facial coverings on public transport and in retail areas.

Letterbox PPE has launched a UK subscription service to provide households and businesses with all the protective equipment they need to stay safe.

Every four weeks subscribers receive a delivery of protective face masks, as well as hand sanitiser and nitrile powder-free gloves – based on the level of their subscription.

The UK subscription box economy is estimated to reach £1bn in value by 2022, according to a report by the Royal Mail last year.

From food, beauty and alcohol, to children’s toys, dog treats and houseplants, there are hundreds of subscription boxes available to buy.

But rather than provide luxury items or family entertainment, Letterbox PPE is focused on the safety of their subscribers.

Company director Rob Statham, from Carlisle, said: “The subscription service is an idea we had to help people source masks, as a lot of people don’t know where to look for them or they can’t be confident in their quality. There are a lot of low-grade imports that have flooded the market.

“And while some shops have started selling them they may not keep stock levels consistent. Without a face mask you can’t travel by public transport and enter shops and supermarkets.

“Ours are from a medical supplies company that specialises in medical-grade IIR and FFP2 masks, and all our PPE has been CE certified.”

Until the pandemic Mr Statham’s primary business, AirClad, predominantly supplied pop-up buildings and structures within the events sector, but all that came to a shuddering halt as the world went on lockdown due to COVID-19.

Partnering with Matthew Griffin, a specialist in medical sales and hospital builds to form Letterbox PPE, they aimed to put their combined expertise to use by addressing the issue of people struggling to source PPE for personal use.

Mr Statham said: “One of our factories in China completely switched its focus to producing masks, which led to our own decision to pivot the business in a similar direction. It was also a way of keeping our staff employed during this period of uncertainty.

“We are conscious not to disrupt the supply chain to the NHS and frontline workers, so we do not stock or sell the masks that they use.

“The masks that are available on our subscription service will stop around 95% of virus particles, where the low-grade masks might stop around 50%, and a scarf or a face covering pulled up over your face will filter out no more than 10%.

“If you’re going to wear a mask, you might as well wear one that is doing something rather than it be a token gesture.”

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Leaders from across Cheshire gathered virtually last week to establish a strong partnership to combat the continuing threat from COVID-19.

A new outbreak response co-ordination group will ensure an effective response across all four council areas, working with the police, NHS and business leaders.

The group is made up of the leaders of Cheshire East Council, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Halton Council, Warrington Borough Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner and the chair of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise partnership.

The group’s work is supported by Cheshire East Council’s public health team and other key frontline staff.

It will ensure the whole county takes a unified approach to managing outbreaks by:

• Providing collective political leadership in response to outbreaks within Cheshire;
• Ensuring Cheshire police can respond to outbreaks consistently, in partnership with local authorities;
• Sharing information on local outbreaks and lockdowns, and reviewing the spread of COVID-19 across Cheshire;
• Learning from partners’ experiences and sharing how to best respond to outbreaks;
• Protecting the local economy during an outbreak, in partnership with the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership; and
• Supporting cooperation with Merseyside, North Wales, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

Each council has published an outbreak management plan for their area which sets out how they will prevent and manage local outbreaks of COVID-19, as they occur in their communities.

Close collaboration across the county between local councils, businesses and Cheshire police will also prevent and manage local lockdowns, protecting lives and livelihoods.

Cllr Louise Gittins, chair of the Cheshire COVID-19 Outbreak Response Co-ordination Group, said: “This virus does not recognise local authority boundaries. We have a great experience of collaboration between councils and other partners, which is now more important than ever before.

“We are meeting regularly to share information and learning. We will help each other tackle outbreaks as they occur, supporting all the organisations and communities, working together to defeat this terrible virus. Our collective aspiration is to make Cheshire COVID free.”

Cllr Sam Corcoran, leader of Cheshire East Council, said: “We understand that the UK has passed the peak of COVID-19 transmission, case numbers have been decreasing and some restrictions have relaxed. However, we have seen some local authorities, such as Leicester, battle against rising numbers and experience a local lockdown.

“There are nationwide worries of a second peak, especially during the Winter months, so it’s vital that we are prepared. Working closely with our neighbouring local authorities and key partners will provide a strong, co-ordinated approach on any local outbreaks that may occur.”

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Some of the items donated by corporate supporters

More than £1.5m-worth of wellbeing packs have been distributed to hard working NHS staff across the region, thanks to the generosity of corporate partners of the Manchester Foundation Trust Charity.

Around 25,000 packs have been distributed across Manchester and Trafford, since the COVID-19 pandemic began earlier this year, to staff working across Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s hospitals and community services.

They were donated by companies including Ralph Lauren, The Hut Group, Manchester United, JD Sports, N Brown Group, Unilever and PZ Cussons.

Items in the wellbeing packages included toiletries, cold drinks, snacks, tea and coffee, non-perishable food items such as energy bars and instant noodles, and clothing.

There was also a special distribution of self-care products to celebrate Year of the Nurse, Easter Eggs and Eid gift boxes to celebrate those religious holidays and even flowers from the President of Kenya.

Group chief nurse, Prof Cheryl Lenney, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported our NHS workers across the Trust over the last few months. The generous donations went a long way and have been very well received by our hard working teams.

“It provided our teams with a positive boost and was a lovely reminder to colleagues of how grateful people are of the vital work they do.”

Sarah Naismith, director of Manchester Foundation Trust Charity, said: “I am incredibly proud of our team and how we were able to turn our offices, and even the Starbucks next door, into a production line for wellbeing pack distribution.

“Like many charities and businesses during lockdown we really had to adapt and completely rethink how we were going to operate during these ever-changing and difficult times.”