With the number of people testing positive for Coronavirus increasing in Oldham, Liberal Democrat Councillors are urging residents of the Borough to follow national and local guidance to stay safe, help stop Covid-19 spreading, and save Oldham from the possibility of the reintroduction of a local lockdown.
New cases detected in Oldham have almost doubled in just one week. The latest figures, for the week ending 8 August, show there were 255 new cases detected in Oldham, a rate of 107.5 new cases per 100,000 people. During week prior to this ending 1 August, there were 137 cases or 57.8 per 100,000. Leicester was placed into lockdown when it had 135 new cases per 100,000 of population.
The Liberal Democrats are concerned that if the present rate of increase is not checked immediately that not only will public health be seriously jeopardised, but the local economy too, as the imposition of a new local lockdown will be inevitable in the next few days.
Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, said: “Many people have been following the local and national guidance, but unfortunately some do not. Now is the time when we all need to pull together. We all need to follow this guidance to stop people getting infected and ultimately to beat this disease. The guidance is there for a reason – it works. If we all follow the rules, we can reduce the rate of infection and avoid the prospect of a local lockdown, which will be necessary to save lives, but which will have a further devastating impact on Oldham businesses and Oldham jobs”.