Yeovil town in sleepy Somerset has gone in weeks from being the lowest Coronavirus region to one of extreme COVID infection risk
Within just over a a fortnight the sleepy market town of Yeovil Somerset has changed drastically from being a town in the UK with the lowest rate of infection for Coronavirus to one of great risk and likelihood to catch the deadly virus.
After appearing on BBC news the towns folk appear to have got ‘over confident’ when it was announced it was one of the UK’s safest towns, just 2 weeks later though, three wards of the town’s hospital has been wiped out by the virus as well as its main employer, Leonardo helicopter manufacturers (formerly Westlands) losing large amounts of staff as infection ravages through it’s plant.
The Yeovil base of Leonardo Helicopters employs 2,800 people and produces numerous helicopters on the site, ranging from the Super Lynx 300 to the AW159 and AW101 but now faces the battle of mass infection, mainly of employees who live in the close knit town.
According to inside sources the town is now set to be contained in a local lockdown after the UK comes out of it’s current ‘circuit break lockdown’ on December 3rd.
Locals in the town itself are blaming the media highlight of the town’s safety for the surge in positive test infections.
Mary Winters from an area known as Westfield Road told Global247news how she thinks residents got ‘over confident’ after the broadcast, she said: ” The problem here in Yeovil is that after the BBC broadcast, everyone regarded the area as safe and fell behind with health and safety standards against the Coronavirus, I have myself seen people taking far less precautions than they were before, less people are adopting masks for instance, you only have to look at the parents up by the school, I see mothers who were wearing protective masks now not wearing them” she said.
“We are a small town and the biggest issue now is, the helicopter plant has the virus spreading through it, that’s where a very large proportion of the towns folk are employed – now we have a real issue” she further added.
Meanwhile according to sources, the town that had the finest non COVID record, now is set to be placed in extra lockdown conditions after the current national ‘circuit break’ lockdown, similar to previously seen in the UK in areas’s such as Liverpool.
Pubs and shops will likely have to remain closed as many other safety regulations applied to try and contain the virus unless the situation drastically changes.
Meanwhile a spokesperson for the town’s hospital that has seen three wards struck with infection so far said:
“We are currently managing an outbreak of Covid-19 within three wards and have taken a number of steps to minimise the impact and prevent further spread of the virus within the Hospital.
“This includes testing all patients and staff on the wards, restricting new admissions and visiting, a specialist cleaning regime, and distancing patients within the ward. We have also been in contact with the families of all patients staying on these wards to advise them of the actions being taken.
“As rates of Covid-19 continue to rise, outbreaks such as this are increasingly likely within hospitals. Our hospital is well practiced in managing such events and doing so in a way that enables other parts of the hospital to operate safely as normal.
“This situation is being managed and monitored by senior clinicians, in line with national policies and guidance, with our Infection Control Team working alongside the ward team to ensure the continued safety of patients and staff.”
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