A district councillor has said that he will be talking to the council to get a plan in place to keep residents safe, after people have contacted him about Coronavirus.

A district councillor has said that he will be talking to the council to get a plan in place to keep residents safe, after people have contacted him about Coronavirus.

Cllr Patrick Kadewere said 'I have had many messages from well intentioned residents wanting to set up local support initiatives, such as doing shopping for anyone who can't get out, collecting prescriptions etc and there are now a number of small groups being set up on social media to help with things like this. Already after 24 hours people are contacting me with concerns that these offers of kindness are being exploited and abused by making requests for unnecessary help or not from people self isolating at all. Whilst it is lovely to see the community pulling together, I have some concerns I would like to make the public aware of in order to be cautious of when accepting help online or by other means. I am incredibly concerned that if elderly residents must now stay at home in self isolation that they face a number of safeguarding risks such as allowing strangers to collect prescription medication, giving out personal information and if they are unable to go out to the bank and accepting help from people to shop for them they may well be handing over bank cards and PIN numbers in order to pay for this.'

Cllr Kadewere goes on to say 'It is known that some people who contract this virus are relatively symptom free, however if these people were then helping vulnerable members of the community, without knowing they may have picked up the virus, this could have a detrimental impact on those they wanted to help. There is also a risk that anyone offering help to those in self isolation without proper guidance or protection could be putting themselves and their families at risk by potentially contracting the virus whilst helping others.'

'I will be raising these issues with Huntingdonshire District Council to discuss putting a properly thought out plan into place with appropriate safeguarding advice and guidance to the public. All local residents will be looked after, but we need appropriate plans in place to ensure not only the safety of the vulnerable residents, but also anyone offering them their help and support'.