Coronavirus: Updates from across the North West

1. Updates from across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside and Lancashire on Tuesday 7 April

New coronavirus advice over household rubbish

New guidance has been issued in Liverpool on how to dispose of certain waste items to help keep refuse collectors safe during the virus outbreak.

Liverpool City Council

Any household containing someone with Covid-19 symptoms is asked by the city council to dispose of waste differently to help limit the spread.

Personal waste, such as used tissues and disposable cleaning cloths, should now be dealt with as follows:

• Store in a tied bag
• Place first bag inside a second bag
• Keep the bag separate from other rubbish for 72 hours (three days)
• Place in your purple bin as usual after 72 hours

NHS volunteers to start receiving tasks

People who volunteered to support the NHS in England during the coronavirus crisis are being given details of what tasks they can do to help.

PA Media

More than 750,000 people signed up to join the "volunteer army" - three times the government's original target - to help relieve pressure on the NHS.

They will support 2.5 million people who are considered at risk.

The volunteers may have to deliver food and medicines, drive patients to appointments and phone the isolated.

Man held in Liverpool murder probe

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following a fatal attack in Liverpool last month.

PA Media

Hassan Haadi, 22, died from “serious head injuries” on Sunday after being found unconscious on Shaw Street in the Everton area of the city on 21 March.

A 24-year-old man from Nottingham has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is in police custody for questioning.

A post-mortem examination is due to take place.

Hundreds of homes cut off in Blackpool power cut

More than 7,000 people were left without electricity during a power cut in Blackpool earlier.

Google

Electricity North West said a fault at a substation near Morrisons off Squires Gate Lane just after 11:00 caused the power outage affecting 7,208 properties.

Power was restored to 2,837 customers in just over an hour with a further 689 customers by 13:15.

Engineers are still working to restore power to the remaining homes, a spokesman added.

Wythenshawe Hospital closes paediatric emergency department

A Greater Manchester hospital is closing its paediatric emergency department to free up more space during the coronavirus pandemic.

Getty Images

Wythenshawe Hospital said children who require emergency care should be taken to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital instead.

A hospital spokesman said the temporary measure was taken amid the "increased need for critical care" at Wythenshawe.

The hospital's A&E department remains open for adult admissions.

The spokesman added: “It is extremely important that children are not taken to the Wythenshawe Hospital emergency department during this time.”

Widnes ice rink to become temporary mortuary

The ice rink in Widnes is being converted into a temporary mortuary as the region braces for more coronavirus deaths.

Halton Council has hired the Planet Ice rink at The Hive as a "precautionary measure" as cases of Covid-19 continue to rise, a spokesman said.

Google

The rink has been identified as a “temporary body storage area” should extra mortuary space be required, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It is not clear how many bodies the rink could hold.

It is the second UK ice rink to be taken over for use as a temporary mortuary after Planet Ice in Milton Keynes was converted last week.

There have been 642 deaths from coronavirus in hospitals across the North West to date, with 17 of those occurring at Warrington and Halton Hospitals.

First look in inside Manchester's new Nightingale Hospital

Here's a first glimpse inside Manchester's new temporary coronavirus hospital, which is due to open on Monday at the Manchester Central building.

It has the capacity for 650 beds and is one of eight field hospitals being built in the fight against the virus.

It will treat patients who have left intensive care but need further treatment before being able to return home.

Manchester football teams work with city's foodbanks

Manchester City and Manchester United are supporting several local initiatives to reduce the impact of coronavirus in the region.

The two clubs, working through their charitable foundations, donated £50,000 to support 19 foodbanks in the area through the Trussell Trust, as well as giving 350 hot meals to various regional charities.

Manchester United has also packaged 30,000 items of food that were left in Old Trafford’s bars, kiosks and kitchens to give to hospitals and food banks.

Murder hunt begins eight months after attack

A murder investigation has begun into the death of a man eight months after he was attacked at his home in Rochdale.

GMP

Stephen Rimmer was taken to Royal Oldham Hospital with “serious facial injuries” he sustained on Culvert Street on 21 August.

The 42-year-old never recovered consciousness after being placed in an induced coma and died in March.

A post-mortem examination concluded that there were links between the injuries and his death.

Police patrol empty Merseyside streets

Merseyside Police have been sharing photos of empty streets and thanking the public for staying at home during the coronavirus lockdown.

@MerPolTraffic

Roads Policing Unit on Otterspool promenade

@MerpolSthSefton

The Strand, Bootle

@MerPolWirral

Birkenhead town centre

@MerPolWirral

Police in Wirral

Meet the Liverpool professor leading coronavirus research

Liverpool professor Tom Solomon is director of the UK's emerging infection research unit at the University of Liverpool.

Here, he talks us through a typical day as he helps in the fight against Covid-19.

Darwen boy gives Easter eggs to medics after Dad's death

A four-year-old boy has spent money from his savings jar on Easter eggs to say "thank you" to medical staff who tried to save his father's life.

Tony Dunn

Kelvin Baker suffered serious injuries in a car crash in December in Bolton.

Despite the efforts of paramedics and hospital staff, the 35-year-old, of Darwen, Lancashire died soon after.

His son, also called Kelvin, wanted to treat the staff after hearing about the pressures and long hours they face during the coronavirus pandemic.

Blackpool and Fylde Police take on loo roll challenge

People are continuing to share videos of themselves doing keepie-uppies with toilet rolls as part of the coronavirus lockdown loo roll challenge.

This time its the Blackpool and Fylde Police cadets turn!

Thieves steal £1.5k camera priest used to stream services

A Roman Catholic priest has had a high-tech camera he was using to live stream masses to his parishioners stolen.

St Vincent Over Hulton

Father Andrew Pastore, of St Vincent RC Church in Over Hulton, Bolton, said the camera was stolen by a sneak thief while he was exercising in another part of his presbytery.

"It took me three years to save £1,500 to buy the camera in February", he said.

Salford Diocese has closed all churches during the coronavirus pandemic and several churches including the cathedral are streaming services.

"I'm hoping I can get a replacement delivered before Easter otherwise it will be a very low-spec version I will broadcast on," Father Pastore continued.

"People tell me the online Masses have been a lifeline."

Greater Manchester Police said the priest was among several people to become victims of sneak thieves in Over Hulton over the last week.

Neighbours help couple celebrate 60 years of marriage in isolation

John and Ivy have been married for 60 years and were due to have a big family celebration to mark the milestone before the coronavirus outbreak struck.

But that didn't stop their neighbours rallying round to help make their day extra special all the same.

Manchester Universities work together to produce NHS safety gear

The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and Salford University are using 3D printing capabilities to make facemask headbands for front line NHS staff.

Google

The University of Manchester confirmed it has about 50 printers across its campus, and aims to make 500 headbands per week, while MMU aims to produce 1,000 headbands per week in its 3D printing hub.

Professor Craig Bank at MMU said:

We will be producing parts for face shields that will be sent out, disinfected and assembled by hospital staff.

This approved process will allow NHS staff to be protected as they fight this deadly virus.

The bands are transported to Salford Royal Hospital where they are assembled and given to NHS staff.

Universities have also donated their own PPE, with the University of Manchester donating 47,660 pairs of gloves and 200 goggles.

The Blackburn football team tackling mental health

Blokes United was set up in Blackburn to bring men together through football and help them talk about their mental health.

An hour of football is followed with a chat in the pub.

'She was more than my nurse, she was my friend'

A former patient of nurse Liz Glanister, who died on Friday after testing positive for Covid-19, has paid tribute to her saying "she was more than just my nurse, she was my friend".

Ms Glanister, 68, worked as a staff nurse at Aintree University Hospital.

Jayne O’Toole, who met Ms Glanister during chemotherapy after having a brain tumour removed, said the pair bonded over their shared love of Everton FC.

She told BBC Breakfast that she was “heartbroken", adding:

Liz looked after me, she was just amazing and had such warmth about her.

During my darkest days, we were always laughing.

Charts show coronavirus deaths by region

These charts compiled by the BBC News data unit show how England's regions compare in terms of deaths from the virus.

Liverpool, Morecambe and Manchester NHS Trusts have all recorded over 50 deaths among patients with Covid-19.

NOTE: These figures run up to 5 April.

BBC

BBC

North West coronavirus deaths: Stats offer more context

Here are some interesting statistics which have been released from the Office of National Statistics, showing a little bit more context surrounding deaths from coronavirus in the region.

The data includes every single death from all causes, as well as hospital fatalities linked to Covid-19.

One thing to bear in mind is it takes at least five days for most deaths to be certified by a doctor, registered and the data processed, meaning the figures are always slightly out of date.

This is the breakdown for the North West week ending 27 March 2020:

• All deaths in the North West region in this week totalled 1,548
• The number of COVID-19 deaths in this week was 60
• NOTE: The population of the region is 7,292,093. It is the third most populated region of the country behind the South West and London

Getty Images

Also, the report states if a death certificate mentions Covid-19 it will not always be the main cause of death, but may be a contributory factor.

To be a confirmed case someone of course has to have been tested, which usually takes place in hospital.

Currently, there are not enough tests to check how many people in the community are infected, or how many deaths there are linked to Covid-19.

You can read more about coronavirus hospital deaths here