Report of the Director of Public Health

The Board considered the report of the Director of Public Health that provided information on the work of the multiagency team which he has led to respond to cases of Covid19 Variants of Concern, identified in Manchester in February 2021. The Board was informed that responding to Variants of Concern is a key part of the government’s four tests for moving through the roadmap out of the pandemic. 

In introducing the report the Director of Public Health also gave a presentation supported by Dr Manisha Kumar, Medical Director (MHCC) to outline the work that was undertaken to set up, manage and monitor Operation Eagle to respond to Variants of Concern in the city.

The presentation provided background on Operation Eagle, the approach taken and key messages, actions undertaken, outcomes, key learning and our future approach to managing Variants of Concern.

The Director of Public Health referred to two outbreaks of Variants of Concern in areas of the city (Moss Side (including: Hulme, Whalley Range and Fallowfield) and Moston) and the quick action taken by a number of organisations that involved knocking on doors, testing, and genomic sequencing between 5 February and 3 March. The outcomes of the operation have provided a rich source of intelligence for use in the event of a further outbreak and has demonstrated the positive response from the local community through the engagement of organisations and individuals. From the testing and subsequent genomic sequencing undertaken, those individuals testing positive have isolated. Work has been ongoing with Public Health England and regular contact has been maintained with the media with the key public health message that the vaccine continues to offer the best protection against Corona19 virus. The Board was informed that the knowledge and experience gained from Operation Eagle has been used to inform other areas that are experiencing outbreaks of variants. 

The Chair invited questions from Members of the Board.

Reference was made to valuable work that had taken place within communities and it was acknowledged that this was the result of the efforts and inspiration of those in the community and multi-agency neighbourhood teams. The collective response in dealing with the outbreaks has demonstrated how the system has worked and this has been aided through the clear leadership provided by the Director of Public Health in bringing those elements together.

The Chair referred to the localisation of test and trace and its effectiveness in dealing with the outbreaks, which the Council had made the case for in the early stages of the pandemic. The delay in moving to localised test and trace had also wasted considerable resource and time in getting to this stage. The Board was informed that the allocation of £35 billion for test and trace nationally would have addressed the entire funding deficit for local government for the year, many times over.

The Chair referred to the effective analysis of variants and the pace of Public Health England in producing genomic sequencing and asked officers on the extent of the transmissibility of the new variants, also how virulent the variants may be and vaccine resistant.

The Director of Public Health informed the meeting that there was currently no evidence to show that the new variants are becoming dominant and the genomic sequencing will continue to help in providing further data. The UK Kent strain was becoming more dominant in parts of Europe, other strains were not indicating dominance but the continued testing and sequencing is crucial in tracking spread and mutations of the virus.

A member of the Board referred to the progress in vaccinating the population and potential variants that the vaccine may not be as effective against resulting vaccinated patients becoming infected by the dominant strain. Officers were asked how would a situation like that impact on the opening of services and parts of society and this been considered.

The Board was reminded of the information presented by the Chief Medical Officer regarding the four key tests which would need to be met before proceeding through the government’s plan to relaxing restrictions and the importance of maintaining a high level of vigilance on a fast-moving virus. The use of frequent testing would help inform and determine the advice on current levels of restriction.

Decision

The Board noted the report.