The Telegraph
Do not help your flood-hit neighbours, a council has warned amid concern "gestures of kindness and goodwill" could fuel the spread of Covid. Hundreds of properties in England and Wales have been flooded after days of heavy rain caused by Storm Christoph, leaving families displaced during a national lockdown. A severe flood warning - meaning danger to life - was in force on Friday for the River Dee at Farndon, Cheshire, while 138 flood warnings, indicating that flooding is expected, were issued across other parts of the country. The Coastguard released footage of a particularly daring rescue effort which saw three people, including a child, lifted into a helicopter by a winch from their flooded home in North Wales. Social distancing has this year been at the heart of councils’ emergency response as public health officials try to prevent rescue operations turning into the scene of viral outbreaks. On Friday, a local authority in one of the worst-affected parts of the country even sought to stamp out the displays of community spirit that can follow destructive storms as volunteers rush to assist the relief effort. Warrington Borough Council released a statement, co-signed by its director of public health, urging the public to “avoid going to any community venues that may have opened”. “People congregating indoors poses significant risks of coronavirus being transmitted,” it continued. The authority said it had seen “many gestures of kindness and goodwill from our communities who are supporting those affected”, but added: “Coronavirus can, and will, spread very easily and will take advantage of any occasion where people are gathering or sharing supplies that may be being passed around.”
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