Denbighshire Council leader issues plea for kindness during Coronavirus outbreak

A council’s leaders have urged people to show “kindness” during the  “unprecedented” Covid-19 outbreak and warned people not to fall prey to scams.

Denbighshire leader Councillor Huw Evans OBE and chief executive Judith Greenhalgh issued a joint statement outlining the authority’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In it, they praised how communities were “pulling together”, adding: “We urge the public to be vigilant, only accept support from trustworthy sources and to beware of any scams operating.

“We will continue to provide services as best we can, but please bear with us. Some things may take longer than usual, some things may stop completely, but this will all be in the interests of our residents.

“We have appealed to residents to keep an eye out for each other, to be a kind neighbour and to check on the welfare of their families, relatives and neighbours.

“By building resilient communities, we hope that people will be able to deal with any self-isolation by having regular contact with the outside world. The use of technology can play a big part.”

Schools will close on Friday for four weeks and the council has shut theatres, although the statement revealed most local authority buildings would remain open for the time being with reduced staffing.

It said the authority was encouraging people to use its online services as much as possible and to heed advice from Public Health Wales on staying safe during the outbreak.

The statement also said they were concerned, just as residents are, but pledged to “minimise the impact on our services, our residents and our communities”.

Council meetings have been cancelled until at least the end of April and cabinet decisions are expected to be delegated to the leader, Cllr Evans, with opportunities for all members to contribute, as has already been proposed in Conwy.

The statement continued: “We will be putting in place arrangements to ensure open and transparent discussions take place, for the democratic process to continue.  This will allow us to carry on working to deal with the coronavirus situation.”

Finally it said: “Our final appeal to our residents is to listen to official advice and information and to take care of themselves and each other.”

By Jez Hemming – Local Democracy Reporter