Birmingham Hostel Forced to Close as 56 Asylum Seekers Struck Down With Coronavirus

By Tony Winterburn • 04 September 2020 • 20:31

A coronavirus outbreak has forced the closure of an asylum seekers’ hostel in Birmingham as 56 struck down with the the bug.

All Residents at the hostel have been moved to alternative accommodation where they will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. A statement from Birmingham City Council has confirmed that 56 people at the hostel have tested positive for COVID-19.

A multi-agency response has been launched involving the council, Public Health England, the Home Office, the Home Office contractor Serco, and Urban Housing, a sub-contractor of Serco. Due to the outbreak, the hostel has also been slapped with a direction order, which requires the site to tighten its protection against the killer disease.

Two other notices have been issued in Birmingham after tougher measures were imposed on the city last week following a surge in cases. City Council leader Ian Ward said: “Contact-tracing is now also under way and is being carried out in the relevant languages of affected residents.”

Cases on the rise in Birmingham

Friday’s national update of the seven-day rate of new cases of Covid-19 for every local authority area in England shows the rate in Birmingham has unfortuanely risen again.

The city now has 34 cases per 100,000 people, a slight increase from 31. This is above the threshold of 20 which is when the UK government generally considers triggering quarantine conditions. It comes as the city’s hospitals chief has urged people to take notice of warnings after a ‘very worrying’ rise in infections and deaths. Data for the last three days (September 2-4) has been excluded as it is has not been compiled and is likely to be revised. There are genuine concerns that city could at anytime be thrown back into lockdown.