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image captionDorset Council said the Poole Port mortuary would come into use this week
A temporary mortuary set up in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic at Poole Port is set to be used for the first time.
Dorset Council said the site would come into use this week due to a rapid increase in Covid deaths and cases over the past two weeks.
Dorset Council leader Spencer Flower said: The devastating impacts of this disease are now being felt.
The site will be used to support NHS hospital mortuaries.
Mr Flower added: We appreciate that this topic is a difficult one for everyone.
THE temporary Covid mortuary at Poole Port, initially constructed as part of a worst-case scenario, has been activated in response to Dorset s rising coronavirus deaths. Public health officials say they ve been forced to open the facility, which is one of two emergency mortuary sites in the county, because of the tremendous pressure on NHS mortuary provision. The decision, announced earlier, marks a grim milestone in the coronavirus crisis - coming on a day when another 45 deaths were reported in Dorset hospitals. Cllr Nicola Greene, resilience and public health member at BCP Council, said: Sadly, this is one of the contingencies we are having to put in place.
THE closed St Mary s School could become a learning space for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), it has been revealed. The council hopes a new school can offer more educational and community facilities for both children and adults locally, as, according to council leader Spencer Flower, there is currently not enough educational provision in the county. The council said the site has the space and facilities to provide for Dorset children with SEND, as well as provide for care leavers and adults with educational needs and disabilities. It could also be a venue for businesses in a bid to boost the local economy.
AGENCIES tasked with stopping the spread of coronavirus in Dorset have come together to urge the public to keep following restrictions. Local authorities, NHS services, police, fire, utilities and voluntary and community sector organisations, under the banner of the Local Resilience Forum (LRF), have encouraged people to “keep up the good work”. Dorset Police chief constable James Vaughan said: “I am writing as chair of the Local Resilience Forum Strategic Coordinating Group to personally thank you, on behalf of all partners, for your unwavering support as we continue to tackle the challenges of dealing with this worldwide pandemic. “Since March last year agencies from across Dorset have come together and are currently meeting three times a week to ensure we provide a multi-agency approach to this emergency and to support our local communities during these very challenging times.
Dorset residents thanked for making huge sacrifices and urged help stop the spread of coronavirus SENIOR council and police figures in Dorset have come to urge residents to ‘keep up the good work’ and ‘help stop the spread’ of coronavirus. Agencies tasked with curbing the spread of coronavirus have written an open letter to everyone across the county thanking them for their efforts and urging them to keep following the restrictions. Local authorities, NHS services, police, fire, utilities and voluntary and community sector organisations, under the banner of the Local Resilience Forum (LRF), are speaking with one voice. They have all acknowledged the ‘huge sacrifices’ residents have made in the last 12 months and how emergency services have had to often adapt to the ever changing rules and circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic.