Coronavirus found in 47 Leeds care homes

A document set to be discussed by Leeds City Council decision-makers claims the area is still being closely monitored, but it now appears the worst of the crisis is over, at least for the city’s care homes.

The report goes on to outline the city’s response to Covid-19 and the council’s plans to help the city get up and running as life in the city begins to return to normal.

But the leader of Leeds City Council’s opposition Conservatives group said the plans needed to show how post-Covid jobs and growth would be supported as the lockdown is gradually lifted.

The report, set to go before the authority’s executive board this week, claims the council is focusing on safe working, education and travel, over the coming weeks, as well as plans on “living with” the virus in communities in the future.

As part of a new outbreak plan, the document states Leeds will need “flexible surge capacity” that can be called upon to ensure outbreaks and cases are dealt with as quickly as possible.

It added arrangements were already in place to support outbreaks in care homes, schools and other settings, but added they would need to be scaled up.

It added: “The number of care homes in Leeds with COVID-19 outbreaks has reduced significantly recently. From a peak of 47 care homes with active cases or outbreaks, there are now only three, and this area remains closely monitored.

“This significant reduction has been achieved through close partnership working and a co-ordinated multiagency response led by LCC Public Health and Adult Social Care, working with Public Health England and Leeds Community Healthcare infection prevention service.”

The report also claimed the Temple Green testing site is currently carrying out 150– 200 tests a day and is not at capacity. This is also a mobile testing unit, deployed at certain regional locations in rotation.

The leader of the opposition conservatives group Coun Andrew Carter the document should contain a section on how the proposals will contribute towards jobs and economic regeneration.

Coun Carter said: “At the beginning of the year no one could have predicted the impact that coronavirus would have on the Leeds economy and on the wider health and well-being of people up and down the country. It is clear that there is now a new reality which will mean that the Council must adapt and prioritise economic regeneration, jobs and growth as its main aim.

“Of course there is a need to be wary of infection rates and to keep everyone safe but the administration now must be focussed on the Leeds economy

and recovery from this terrible pandemic.

“All Executive Board reports currently have a dedicated section on the climate emergency, we think that this should now be expanded to include economic regeneration where every report considered must detail its potential impact on the Leeds economy. It is vital that the city recovers as quickly as possible to protect jobs and ensure a return to growth as quickly as possible.”