EMERGENCY meetings and ‘thinking the unthinkable’ — the council’s leader has lifted the lid on how the coronavirus pandemic has been approached by the authority.
Three Wokingham borough residents have been with the virus as of March 11 and several schools around the borough have taken action to deal with the potential spread of the illness.
Willow Bank Infant School re-opened yesterday to allow children back to class following a deep clean.
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This came after a teacher tested positive for coronavirus in February.
Elsewhere in the borough school pupils have also been told to self-isolate over the fears, including children at Keep Hatch Primary School and St Crispins School.
WBC is working with health bosses and schools to reduce the risk of the virus spreading to local schools and communities across the borough.
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Top officials at the council have met frequently as part of the authority’s Emergency Planning Team.
This group includes the leader and deputy leader of the council, the chief executive and the deputy chief executive, directors from each department, as well as representatives from Royal Berkshire Hospital, NHS England and the local Clinical Commissioning Group.
Leader Cllr John Halsall told the News the team has convened around ten times in response to the outbreak, sessions which are often held online through conference calls and which last for more than an hour each time.
WBC also shares an Emergency Planning Officer (EPO) with Reading Borough Council — or as Cllr Halsall likes to call it: “the pessimistic post”.
The EPO has in the past dealt with flooding and snow issues across the borough, but now their focus is on coronavirus.
Cllr Halsall said: “His job is to think the unthinkable.
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“He works out a plan for what our response should be in the situation arising.”
The leader gave an update on WBC’s position following latest national and international developments.
He said: “At the moment the government is saying that we are at the initial stage of the response.
“The leading authority is Public Health England. They are being advised by the committee of COBRA.
“I’m really impressed by how quickly it is all looked into and how competent people are.”
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