Bingo Blamed for Coronavirus Outbreak in Staffordshire

A bingo session which took place on August 16^th has been linked to at least 13 positive Coronavirus cases and officials are urging anyone that attended the Silverdale Working Men’s Club in Staffordshire on the evening in question, to get a Covid-19 test! It was inevitable something like this would happen with venues opening back up around the country, but the positives here are that this is the first such reported case since lives started getting back to normal!

The bingo players who attended the venue then went on to visit at least seven other venues after playing bingo, including The Bush, The Vine, The George & Dragon, The Kiln and The Roebuck pubs plus the Newcastle Working Men's Club and Bilash restaurant, but they had no reason not to carry on as normal, what with being asymptomatic!

Public Health England (PHE) has highlighted Stoke-on-Trent as an “area of concern”, what with the number of positive cases increasing by 15, six of these coming from Premier Foods. A Premier Foods spokesperson said: "We have seen a very small number of colleagues test positive for Covid-19 at our Stoke factory, reflective of an increase in cases in the wider Stoke-on-Trent/Newcastle-under-Lyme area. As a result, we have introduced further protective measures on site, in addition to our already stringent hygiene and safety procedures."

Stay Vigilant

Safety measures are being set up around the globe to allow us to visit venues (such as bingo) and go about our daily lives with very little risk and as long as we adhere to the rules, we can stay one step ahead of the virus. Washing hands regularly for at least 20-seconds at a time and keeping at least 2-meters distance from other people are among the list of do’s and don’ts from the NHS:

• Use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• Put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
• Clean objects and surfaces you touch often (such as door handles, kettles and phones) using your regular cleaning products
• Consider wearing a face covering when in shared spaces
• Keep windows open in the room you're staying in and shared spaces as much as possible
• And don’t share towels!

Dr Richard Harling, Staffordshire County Council's director of health and care, said: "Through our ongoing contact tracing we have identified that cases linked to the Silverdale club outbreak have visited a number of venues whilst infectious. It is important that everyone who attended these venues on the specified dates gets a test."

Source: “Coronavirus Outbreak in Staffordshire Linked to Bingo Event”. BBC News. August 28, 2020.