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Pubs and restaurants are not Covid hotspots, public health officials say
Hospitality venues are not hotspots for coronavirus transmission, according to public health officials.
Pubs, bars and restaurants don’t pose a ‘terribly big risk’ when it comes to transmission of the virus, a group of experts have told Parliament.
Richard Harling, the director of health and care at Staffordshire County Council, and Greg Fell, the director of public health at Sheffield County Council, made the statements about hospitality when speaking to Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee this week.
The pair, alongside the government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, were giving evidence while talking about the NHS Test and Trace system.
Addressing MPs, Mr Fell said hospitality was ‘nowhere near the top of his risk radar’, while Sir Patrick added there was ‘no hard evidence’ to prove the 10pm curfew reduced transmission rates.
According to them, the largest area for infection continues to be within and between households, although hospitality has seen the strictest restrictions throughout the various lockdowns and tiers.
Mr Harling said: “Back in the summer and autumn, once you put transmission between household members aside, the next most important one was transmission between different households.
“Hospitality did feature but much lower down the list.
“At the moment with hospitality closed, our main one now is other businesses, other workplaces.”
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Mr Fell added: “Most of the transmission events are households, within households, or household to household transmission.
“Hospitality doesn’t crop up as a terribly big risk on our risk radar. Certainly when we look at the common exposure dataset, hospitality certainly isn’t a huge risk.
“There will have been transmission in hospitality, but its certainly nowhere near the top of my risk radar.”
The news comes as Boris Johnson is preparing to reveal his roadmap out of lockdown, which will reportedly be announced during the week of February 22nd.
According to reports, the roadmap out of restrictions will consist of a three-stage gradual reopening, starting with schools and followed by non-essential retail, with hospitality last.
The plan would see pubs and restaurants opening in May, with retail reopening in April and schools potentially opening on March 8th.
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Man to complete visiting every Wetherspoon pub in Britain and Ireland this week
Now he only has one final pub left to visit
A man will complete his visit to every Wetherspoon pub in Britain and Ireland this week as he sips his final pint to conclude his mission.
Most people like to see how far they can make it in a pub crawl but David Bingham, 60, decided to take it much further than that.
The Derbyshire man, who set out on the task in 2019, will conclude his journey of sipping a pint at all 875 Wetherspoon venues this week, including the 40 that have closed.
Now he only has one final pub left to visit, and he’s booked a flight at the South Terminal in Gatwick Airport in order to tick it off his long list.
The last of the boozers will be The Flying Horse, which is conveniently located right after security at the airport. Wetherspoons has praised his dedication.
Mr Bingham, from West Hallam, has said his other passions are trainspotting and following Burton Albion. He took on the challenge while also pursuing his other hobbies. Mr Bingham told the BBC: “If we were going somewhere new, I’d suss out the Wetherspoons.”
His partner Una Cooper bought him a directory of the pubs and he began ticking them off. “I’ve had a drink in most pubs, I’d say 85%,” he said.
“I’m a lager lad, definitely. The one in Ramsgate [in the Royal Victoria Pavilion] is my favourite because the history behind that building is incredible.
“But there are five police stations, there are churches, there’s chapels, there’s a tram depot, there’s a fire station.
“They just save these fantastic buildings. I love architecture and I love buildings. It’s a history lesson.”
Wetherspoon spokesman, Eddie Gershon, said: “We applaud David Bingham on his outstanding achievement.
“Many people love to visit Wetherspoon pubs across the UK and Ireland, but only a handful have visited each and every one. David will now join that select group.
“He has obviously put in a lot of time and effort into achieving his goal and we thank him for his dedication to our pubs.”
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108-year-old reveals secret to long life is having dogs not kids
She was inundated with almost 300 cards to wish her a ‘happy birthday’
An elderly woman has celebrated her 108th birthday and revealed her secret to having a long life was having dogs rather than children.
Ada Daniel has lived at Codnor Park Care Home, Derbyshire, since 2015. Knowing the centenarian had a very impressive birthday coming up, staff at her home put the news out there and appealed for 108 birthday cards.
But Ada was inundated with nearly 300 cards — showing what a popular lady she is.
She also received a very special card from the King and Queen to mark her big day.
Ada couldn’t believe it as she said: “Three hundred? Ooh, gracious! Can’t believe it. Can’t believe it.”
Staff surprised her with a private birthday party which included an afternoon tea and numerous balloons which had been donated during the appeal to make her day extra special.
Kelly Goucher, activity co-ordinator at Ashmere, the company which runs the home, told the BBC: “Ada hasn’t got a lot of family left.
“She never had any children so she doesn’t have any grandchildren so we just wanted to get her as many cards as possible. She quite likes the fact that people know about her because of her age.”
It was Kelly who decided to launch the appeal for 108 birthday cards on Facebook. She said she was shocked at the number of people who responded and wanted to send Ada their well wishes.
She said: “I woke up to 135 messages the following morning of people wanting to send cards.
Kelly also went on to explain that Ada didn’t have children but instead owned a lot of pet pooches. “She had a lot of greyhounds,” she said.
Adding: “She’s definitely a character. I did ask her what her secret was once and she said it was ‘to have dogs, not kids’.”
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Boy, 11, seriously hurt in horror dog attack in Manchester
Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward
An 11-year-old boy has been seriously hurt after being attacked by a dog in Manchester.
The incident happened on Sunday afternoon (June 4th) in Swanley Avenue, Monsall and emergency services, including an air ambulance were in attendance.
Greater Manchester Police have said the young boy sustained injuries which were not life-threatening in the attack.
A 35-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control and the animal was also seized, officers said.
A cordon was put in place along Swanley Avenue, with a number of police vehicles and ambulances at the scene in the immediate aftermath. GMP are now asking for witnesses to come forward.
Officers have appealed for any CCTV, mobile or dashcam footage. Superintendent Nicola Williams said the ‘awful attack’ had left the boy’s family ‘incredibly distressed’.
She added: “I understand the concern an incident of this nature will cause in the wider community, and I want to reassure you we will carry out an extensive investigation into what has happened.
“The dog has been secured and we have made an arrest of a woman who remains in police custody.”
Members of the public can give information by calling 0161 856 1146, quoting log 1530 of June 4th 2023, or use the LiveChat function on GMP’s website: www.gmp.police.uk. Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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