Call for residents to follow guidelines as hospital deaths rise
A rallying call has been issued for people to play their part in the fight against coronavirus as the number of patients dying in hospitals continues to rise.
To date, 2,688 people have died from Covid-19 in hospitals across the Black Country, Staffordshire and Birmingham, with the number rising almost daily.
Now MPs are urging residents to follow the guidelines to help slow the spread of the virus.
Eddie Hughes, MP for Walsall North, said Walsall Manor Hospital has been "gearing up".
He said: "Of course it is a concern, I think we are now at that junction of two choices, a lockdown such as Wales but I don't think that would be fair as we have such a high disparity between infection levels.
"Personally I would like to see as much of society carrying on as normal for as long as we can until restrictions have to be imposed.
"We have a fortnightly call with the CEO of the hospital and they are clearly geared up and they have been gearing up for some considerable time.
"We need to make sure the public takes it seriously.
"People are exasperated by the rules and are becoming more relaxed.
"Our job is to try and encourage continuing vigilance to make sure that they stick to the rules as much as possible."
Mike Wood, MP for Dudley South, said people will lose their lives unless the spread of the virus can be reduced.
He said: "The number of deaths is still quite low.
"People need to be doing all they can to reduce the number of infections as it does make its way to more vulnerable age groups, to people who are more likely to be infected much more seriously and there's much higher chances of them dying from it.
"We can see infection rates going up in the age brackets, where we were with 16-to-30 year-olds at the start of September, it's roughly where we are with the 60-somethings now.
"Unless we can reduce the spread of this virus, sadly people are going to lose their lives. We need to act quickly."
Stuart Anderson, MP for Wolverhampton South West, said: "The residents of Wolverhampton are doing a great job in difficult times, I would urge them to keep following the rules and we can defeat this virus.
"Any rise in the numbers is not welcomed but we are working across the city to battle the virus and urge all residents to do their bit by following the rules."
