Greater Manchester’s Covid response team has met today and reported in what will be the first of a weekly press conference

Led by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham who emphasised that the purpose of the committee was not to undermine the Government but to help and assist, and make sure there were no gaps across Greater Manchester when dealing with the crisis.

Burnham outlined a number of issues that the region had identified as the crisis evolved.

Top of the list was cash, councils that had suffered ten years of austerity did not have the resources to maintain their cash flow, a point reiterated by Brenda Warrington the leader of Tameside Council who went onto say

”We don’t have the testing, we don’t have the PPE that we need. The last thing we need is hosts and hosts of our workers having to self isolate or becoming ill and not being able to provide the service.”

Burnham also brought up the issue of a lack of PPE equipment, especially within the police, saying that officers are attending incidents that might put them at risk from contamination

Meanwhile Professor Kate Adern, GMCA lead on public health urged the public to follow the Government’s advice on social distancing “This is the best thing you can do to protect your mum, your dad, your grandparents, so please don’t go on as business as usual.”

On business Juergen Maizer from Greater Manchester’s LEP stresses how cash flow can very quickly become a problem as will the time lag before the announced Government loans come through.

He added that immediate measures were needed including the Chancellor’s business rates holiday extending to other sectors as well as VAT and PAYE suspensions.

However more urgently he added was the need for a scheme to help staff put on reduced hours

 

 

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