Health chiefs warn Northampton's bus passengers 'keep your distance' in bid to stop town's Covid-19 spike

Health officials are pleading with bus passengers not to scramble to get on board as Northampton battles a Covid-19 spike,

Public Health Northamptonshire issued new advice to limit contact with others after the town was highlighted as a potential hotspot for new cases, raising the danger of a local lockdown.

A statement said: "The increase does not appear to be related to one specific incident or a single method of transmission.

"It has come to our attention that non-compliant car sharing, and social distancing outside areas of work and at bus stops are a concern."

Our story back on May 14 — six weeks into the lockdown — highlighted public concerns about queues at bus stops after a video was posted on social media.

Exasperated bosses at bus operator Stagecoach said it has added extra vehicles on certain journeys, but admitted: “The vast majority of passengers continue to follow the government rules. It is disappointing that there are a minority of instances where this is not the case."

Health chiefs insisted today they have done their best to get the message across.

A spokesman for Public Health Northamptonshire said: “Throughout this crisis we have relied on the public to do the right thing.

“After issues were raised around these bus stops, we introduced additional graphics at bus stops in the town centre, to avoid any language barriers, in a bid to encourage bus users to abide by the guidance in place across the country.

“This was followed up by education and advice to users of the areas and ongoing patrols and we would remind users of public transport that they should continue to wear face coverings.

“All public authorities involved in the response have done their level best to ensure enforcement activity is targeted where it will be most effective.”

HERE'S THE ADVICE YOU NEED TO FOLLOW IN AND AROUND NORTHAMPTONLatest government figures showed the Covid-19 infection rate in the borough has risen above the national and regional average to 549 per 100,000 of the population since the pandemic was first identified in the county on March 3.

The equivalent figure for the East MIdlands is 480 per 100,000, although this includes Leicester which was put into local lockdown four weeks ago and shows 1,352 cases per 100.,000.

Local health officials issued new guidance for Northampton residents after PHE identified the town as an "area of concern" over rising infection rates.

Advice includes limiting contact with others outside your own household — particularly indoors. Extra testing units were drafted into the town from Thursday in an effort to identify more people carrying the virus so they can self-isolate and use the NSH test and trace service to avoid passing it on.

A walk-in mobile testing unit is set up in the Market Square for people with symptoms to walk in without appointments today (Monday). A second drive-in unit is deployed at St Andrew's Hospital, although appointments must be booked online.

Demand for buses slumped by 85 per cent during the lockdown but has increased since non-essential shops reopened on June 15 and some staff returned to their workplace earlier this month.

Yet buses still only have room for around 25 per cent of the normal number of passengers with the need to to maintain social distancing on board.

Many passengers have also reported government rules on wearing face coverings on public transport being ignored, although certain people are exempt.