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ALL WHITE TAXIS

SOUTHPORT & FORMBY

23 23March March2022 2022

Vol 29• Issue 12

INSIDE THIS WEEK:

www.champnews.com

CASH OR CARD IN ALL CARS

MPs want town out of Sefton and into Lancashire

Care home staff rally for Ukraine

BOROUGH’S COVID TEST CENTRES SET TO CLOSE Report by Tom Martin SEFTON’S Covid-19 test centres are set to close as the government prepares to end free lateral flow tests. But there is concern the move could lead to a rise in infection levels across Sefton’s communities and increased pressure on our medical services again. Under the government’s ‘Living with Covid’ plan, most people in England will no longer get free PCR or lateral flow tests (LFTs) from April 1. It means the borough’s three rapid test centres at Southport Splash World, Bootle Town Hall and the Strand Shopping Centre will end on this date. As well as this, the four walk-through test centres which offer PCR tests at Southport Town Hall, Bootle Town Hall, Crosby Library car park, and Netherton Activity Centre - will also close. Currently, people in Sefton can collect free, rapid

Move could lead to infection cases going undetected, warns Sefton Councillor

LFT test kits from the borough’s Covid-19 test centres. People who want support with testing can also get their test, and advice, at one of the centres. However, with the government ending funding for local testing from the start of April, these test centres will close. Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Ian Moncur, fears it will lead to many Covid cases going undetected. He said: “Using regular LFTs has let us know when we have the Covid virus without feeling unwell or showing the symptoms, and as a result we have been able to protect others and not pass it on unwittingly. “I am worried that with Covid case numbers and hospitalisations in the UK already rising, people will not be able to afford to start paying for tests when they face huge rising prices in the shops and at petrol stations, an eyewatering leap in the cost of domestic fuel, increased train fares and, from next month the government’s National Insurance hike.

The Covid 19 test centre at Dunes Splash World will close April 1

Continued on page 5

Southport Lifeboat receive the donation for £3,000

Crematorium makes £3k donation to Lifeboat charity

WEST Lancashire Crematorium in Burscough has made a £3,000 donation to Southport Lifeboat in aid of the essential life-saving work they provide. Southport Lifeboat is run by the Southport Offshore Rescue Trust to provide rescue services around the Sefton coastline. The charity rely entirely on donations and fundraising. The money was raised from the crematorium’s metal recycling scheme. Continued on page 17

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