Day of action finds continuing good Covid-19 compliance

People and businesses in Wolverhampton continue to show a high level of compliance with the Covid-19 regulations, following the latest day of action by Wolverhampton Police and the City of Wolverhampton Council on Thursday (18 February).

Officers jointly patrolled the city centre, Bilston, Whitmore Reans, Wednesfield, Heath Town, Tettenhall and Penn and found the vast majority of the public to be maintaining social distancing and wearing face coverings, while most shops and businesses were also complying with the measures in place to make Wolverhampton a safer place and keep infections down.

Although in the main people were following the regulations, police issued eight fixed penalty notices including one to an individual for arranging a gathering in her home. In addition, 104 directions to leave were issued to people who did not have a valid reason to be out.

Officers visited 20 business premises where there had been reported breaches of the restrictions, finding good compliance in some cases and reminding businesses of their responsibilities where breaches were noted.

Superintendent Simon Inglis of Wolverhampton Neighbourhood Policing Unit said: "The vast majority of people clearly understand the severity of the situation and are sticking to the rules so that we can keep infection rates down.

"The response from members of the public and businesses to our latest day of action was positive. There were some challenges from those who weren’t adhering to the regulations, but most were pleased to see the non-compliance being challenged."

People are reminded that it is currently against the law to meet socially with anyone who is not part of their household or support bubble, and that people should stay home unless necessary.

figures show there were 167.3 new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the seven days to 19 February. That means 434 people in the city tested positive for the virus in that seven day period – though the true number of new cases will likely be considerably higher.

John Denley, Wolverhampton's Director of Public Health, said: "The Covid-19 infection rate in Wolverhampton is coming down, and that's because the vast majority of people are doing the right thing.

"But we cannot afford to be complacent – hundreds of people are still testing positive for this deadly virus every week.
“So please continue to do all you can to stop the spread of the virus by staying home unless absolutely necessary, practicing hands, face and space, and getting a PCR test if you develop symptoms or a rapid test if you don’t have symptoms. Most importantly, please make sure you have your Covid-19 vaccine as soon as you are able to."

Further enforcement days are planned in the coming days. People who have concerns about businesses not being Covid compliant can report their experiences to the council online via www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/covidreport-it or by calling 01902 550188.

The latest information and guidance around coronavirus is available at www.gov.uk/coronavirus and on the council’s own coronavirus pages at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/coronavirus. Information about the vaccine can be found at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/covidvaccine. Further details of the lockdown restrictions currently in place, and the answers to frequently asked questions, are available at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/covidalert.