Criticism mounts over postcode-based covid information

Norwood residents have criticised information released surrounding the South African variant of coronavirus in Norwood, with the initial message being that only PR9 residents should seek a test, even though Norwood contains hundreds of homes with a PR8 postcode.

Now there are calls for the Council and DHSC to apologise after they corrected messaging to say all residents in Norwood, regardless of their postcode, could get an emergency test.

The early advice meant that residents who lived miles away were encouraged to seek a test, while some in Norwood were told not to.

A Council spokesperson said: “Following feedback from residents, we want to reiterate that testing for the South African variant of Covid-19 is strictly for those living in Norwood ward, whether you live in a PR9 or PR8 postcode of that ward.”

But the damage has already been done in the eyes of many residents who now feel shunned and vulnerable after being left out of the original alert.

One resident said he thought the council didn’t even realise that the Norwood area covered more than one postcode.

Michael Binns said “the Media have mentioned Norwood but also kept using postcode of PR9.

“I suspect neither council nor media were aware that Norwood covered PR8 and PR9 so they then needed to stop talking about postcodes and just stress it’s the entire ward.

“Whoever decided to use postcodes first clearly had no idea that they don’t match ward boundaries. It has been known this infection is close to the postcode boundary since at least Saturday so why the constant use of Postcodes?

“Was this a national government thing?”

Cllr John Pugh told OTS News: “Some residents outside the PR9 area as well as some people who travel routinely for work into the Norwood area from outside Southport may have been more at risk than someone in the far north of PR9. However, everyone in PR9, regardless, is subject to the same stringent regime. Children who have been going to school during the lockdown for example have been told to stay away.”

“There’s a widespread acknowledgement that there are anomalies, but the hard truth the government have had to recognise is that nearly everyone knows their postcode, but fewer can say what council ward they are in. 

“Complicated messages don’t work even if simple messages are a bit crude.”

“There is though a limited supply of test cases currently and not enough if everyone in PR9 wants or gets one.”