Coronavirus: Portsmouth puts measures in place to deal with outbreak
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Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed its officers and staff are prepared.
It comes as the government's chief scientific officer said between 5,000 to 10,000 people could be infected. There are 798 confirmed cases in the UK with 10 deaths.
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Hide AdCouncillor Matthew Winnington, from the city council, added: 'We have business continuity plans across each team in the council that are regularly reviewed.
‘These have been revisited to ensure they're equipped to support our plans to manage Covid-19.
‘These plans include how we will re-prioritise resources to ensure our vital services remain running.’
He added: ‘The public health team in Portsmouth are working with emergency planning colleagues, and partners from the Hampshire & the IoW Local Resilience Forum such as other local authorities, Public Health England, Hampshire police, South Central Ambulance Service, clinical commissioning groups, NHS acute and community trusts (and others) to ensure we share information, planning and resources to achieve a consistent approach across the region.'
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Hide AdThe Electoral Commission has recommended postponing May's local council and crime commissioner elections until the autumn.Fire service area manager Dan Tasker said: 'As a public service we are well prepared to deal with the impact to Hampshire and Isle of Wight FRS and our community with robust and well-rehearsed plans in place.‘We will work closely with our partner agencies to assure the business continuity across essential areas of service delivery, in accordance with the national guidance from Public Health England and NHS.'The University of Portsmouth has said it remains open but is making 'contingency plans'.
A spokesman said: ‘At this stage, teaching and research activities are taking place as usual.
‘We are following the guidelines set by PHE and the government around travel advice and self-isolation from affected areas. We are monitoring the situation closely and will respond accordingly in line with any national guidance from the government.
‘As you would expect, we have to be ready to react to this fast-moving situation and contingency plans are being prepared for every eventuality.’
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Hide AdThe university has a webpage with coronavirus information for students here.