Coronavirus has not gone away, warns Wolverhampton health chief
Coronavirus has not gone away and hospitals need to be prepared for the prospect of a second wave, a Wolverhampton health boss has warned.
The rate of infection has dropped massively across the city since the start of lockdown but Paul Maubach, head of the Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), warned against complacency.
He said Covid-19 would be here for "the whole of this year and beyond" and that it was crucial health services were ready for a second surge.
Cases have been brought under control since the Black Country was an early hotspot when the pandemic reached the UK, though there have been recent isolated outbreaks in parts of Sandwell which have been a cause for concern.
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Mr Maubach, chief executive of the CCG, which funds hospital and GP services in Wolverhampton, paid tribute to NHS staff for their efforts in tackling the virus so far but said there could be more work to do.
Speaking at the group's AGM he said: "It's incredible the way staff have responded to the pandemic, in our GP practices and right through to our hospitals.
"The reality is the virus is still with us. We still have an underlying rate of infection, although it has gone down.
"It is going to be with us the whole of this year and beyond."
He added: "One thing we're very clear about is working with partners in order to maintain effective prevention and infection control measures to support our staff and support our patients.
"We need to make sure we have to capacity to respond if it does flare up again and if we do have a second wave.
There were no coronavirus deaths in West Midlands hospitals for the fifth day running on Wednesday.
It emerged this week 22 workers at CBS Packaging, in West Bromwich, have tested positive for Covid-19 while 15 are off work with symptoms.
There has also been a spike of cases in neighbouring town Smethwick, with health chiefs warning shops could close there.
