Good morning Wednesfield! Sunday the 26th September. Hope you all have a great day. Here is the latest information I have about the Local Covid-19 situation here in our City of Wolverhampton, and other news that may have an impact upon you. Please remember contact me on if you know an individual, a Group or a Business that fall into the following headings. We are actively looking for your nominations for the Wednesfield North Community Excellence Awards.
The Wednesfield North Community Excellence Awards will cover the following headings
Art & Dance
Sporting Achievement
Environment
Community
Volunteering
Business in the Community
Improving Lives
Best Community Project
Volunteer of the Year
Please let me have your nominations on email@philbateman.com Nominations need to be with me by Midnight on November 10th 2021.
Covid-19 latest infection rate
1.
The latest figures show there were 338.5 new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the last seven days. That means 890 people tested positive for the virus in that same period – though the true number of new cases will likely be higher.
2. Covid-19 vaccination update
A total of 326,245 Covid-19 vaccinations have now been administered in Wolverhampton. Some 170,810 residents have had their first dose, and a total of 155,435 people have had two doses. As students head into halls and get ready for the new term, the vaccine bus is back at Molineux Stadium again this week, close to the university’s halls of residence, to make it as easy for students and other local residents to get vaccinated.
3. Covid-19 education update
With Covid-19 cases rising in the city’s schools, pupils, staff, and their families are being reminded to get tested to help keep Covid out of the classroom.
There were 119 education-based cases of Covid-19 reported to us in the 10 days to Tuesday, including 70 within Wolverhampton’s primary and 37 in secondary schools. Nationally, more than 100,000 children were absent with confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections in England last week.
We are urging secondary pupils and all school staff to get a rapid test twice a week and for everyone to get a PCR test if they develop symptoms of Covid-19, no matter how mild. For details of rapid Covid-19 testing, click here. To book a PCR test, people should call 119 or visit www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test.
4. Covid-19 changes to international travel rules
Planned changes to international travel mean that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will no longer need to take expensive PCR tests from the end of next month.
The Government has announced that the current traffic light system will be replaced by a single ‘red list’ of countries and territories from Monday 4 October. Fully vaccinated travellers will no longer need to take a pre-departure test from this date, and from around the end of October, fully vaccinated passengers will be able to swap their day two return PCR test with a cheaper rapid lateral flow test.
However, unvaccinated passengers will continue to have to complete a pre-departure test and day two and day eight return PCR tests.
5. Covid-19 business testing
Regular Covid-19 testing is helping to keep staff safe and local businesses operational. One of the first businesses in Wolverhampton to pilot testing for staff who cannot work from home was Ansaldo Nuclear Ltd, which has since made regular testing part of their workplace routine. We have worked with Ansaldo to show the benefits of regular testing and encourage other businesses to do the same.
Traffic Jams.
On Saturday there were a lot of reports about traffic Jams in and around Wednesfield. Many of the jams were around petrol stations as the motorist queued for fuel. But also mixed in with that was the fact that Junction 10 on the M6 was closed for Bridgework. This did impact Willenhall, and that had some affect on our near neighbours in Willenhall. The City Council officials informed me that the City Council “have liaised with our fuel suppliers and have confidence that our services will not be affected by fuel challenges that have affected some organisations.”
Council Invests £480,000 Upgrading A449 Arterial Route
Work to replace broken wooden fencing and a metal pedestrian barrier, install new kerbs and cut back overgrown planting along a section of the central reservation on the A449 Stafford Road between Bushbury Road Island and Oxley Moor Road junction will start on Monday 27 September.
The works will require lane closures to protect workers on both the north and southbound sides of the road for the 12-week scheme, but the work will be done during off-peak hours (9.30am to 3pm) to minimise disruption. Many residents of Wednesfield work in this area, so I have placed this roadworks here to help you plan for it.
Time running out to have say on Black Country Plan
Residents are being reminded they have less than three weeks remaining to have their say on the future of housing plans in the region. A public consultation on the latest phase of the Black Country Plan closes on Monday 11 October, and City of Wolverhampton Council Leader, Cllr Ian Brookfield, is urging people to get involved and help protect greenbelt land in the city.
The Government projects that the Black Country will need just over 76,000 new homes over the next 20 years. To support this growth, it also needs 560 hectares of land to accommodate new jobs by 2039. This is equivalent to 835 football fields.
The consultation gives people the chance to have their say on the proposed sites for development and where they think new development should be in the Black Country. To find out more, you can visit Central Library, Wednesfield Library, Bilston Library or Wolverhampton Civic Centre reception for paper copies, or email blackcountryplan@dudley.gov.uk
Have a great day Wednesfield…!
