Joint statement from Greater Manchester Directors of Public Health

GREATER Manchester’s ten Directors of Public Health are asking anyone who has travelled to the city-region from any Tier 4 area or Wales to act as if they have the new variant of Covid-19 and self-isolate for at least ten days when they arrive. The ten days should start from Saturday 19th December. This means remaining inside the house where they’re staying for the whole ten days. Other people who live in the house do not need to self isolate unless anyone gets symptoms, but no visitors should be allowed in that house at all, even on Christmas Day.

Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy is Director of Public Health in Tameside. She said: “The new strain of Covid, which is increasingly rapidly in Tier 4 areas, is extremely worrying. It is incredibly infectious and if you come in to contact with someone with this strain you are far more likely to catch it than the original strain.

“We are so concerned about the potential grave impact of this that we have taken the difficult decision to ask anyone who has travelled here for Christmas from any Tier 4 area or Wales to act as if they have this new variant, even if they have no symptoms, and self-isolate for at least ten days. Other people in the house do not need to self isolate but no visitors should be allowed in that house at all, even on Christmas Day. We are asking people to follow the same rules households have done when school children have been asked to isolate after coming in contact with someone who is positive. The individual is the only one who needs to isolate, but if, during that time, anyone in the house gets symptoms, they must all isolate and the person with symptoms get a test straight away.

“In addition we’re asking every single person in Greater Manchester to take extreme care from this moment on. You can minimise your chances of catching Covid - even the new strain - by scrupulously sticking to the guidance around keeping at least two metres away from people at all times, wearing a face covering, washing your hands frequently and staying in well ventilated places. If you’re inside this means having the windows open for at least 15 to 20 minutes every hour.

“We know so many people have been doing their bit for so long, and we know everyone desperately wishes we could see an end to the restrictions, but it’s more important than ever that we all put in that extra effort to keep our friends and families safe in the coming weeks.”

For details about self isolation, including when to get a test, go to https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

For more information and guidance on how to stay safe, visit www.DoYourBitGM.org.