Liverpool urges young adults to follow social distancing guidelines after rise in coronavirus cases

A man wearing a face mask walks by a social distance sign in Liverpool
REUTERS
Rebecca Speare-Cole27 August 2020

Liverpool has called on young adults to abide by social distancing guidance following a rise in coronavirus cases across the city.

The City Council appealed to adults under 40 to abide by the measures after a spike in cases within the age group.

The authority said there had been a steady increase in the rolling weekly total over the last fortnight and those aged 40 and under account for half of the cases.

As the risk of getting seriously ill from coronavirus increases with age, there are fears many younger people have been left with a false sense of security against the disease.

Throughout the pandemic, police have responded to mass gatherings or illegal raves attended by crowds of youth.

Liverpool's deserted waterfront at the heigh of lockdown
PA

With schools set to reopen next week, Liverpudlians are being urged remain vigilant to help avoid cases in the community.

Director of public health Matt Ashton urged people to stick to the two-metre social distancing rule as well as wear masks in confined spaces, wash their hands regularly and get tested if they had symptoms.

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He said: “It is really important that as schools start to reopen and more workplaces are getting back to normal, we all take responsibility and follow the guidance to limit the spread of cases as far as possible.”

“The big risk is infection coming in to the school through the community, for example through people who don’t know they are carrying it mixing with staff or pupils outside and it infecting them," he added.

"It is therefore essential that we all socially distance whenever possible, and when not, use face coverings."

It comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Government has been “working very, very closely” with public health authorities in local lockdown areas, which are battling with Covid-19 spikes.

Commenting on the Test and Trace system, he added: “This is all about strengthening a system that didn’t even exist a couple of months ago, that has had some quite serious scrutiny, but is now working incredibly effectively, but we want to make it work better.

“And we want to make sure that everybody, no matter their income level, gets the support they need to do the right thing.”

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