‘The people of Rochdale are going to suffer’ – How Greater Manchester COVID Hotspot Reacted to Level 3 | UK News



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It was just a bag of baked bread, milk, eggs, and beans, but for Jane Little and her family, it makes a difference.

Without her home delivery from a Rochdale-based charity, she really struggles to find her benefit money to feed her three adult children who have special needs.

“I don’t eat a few days so they can,” he said.

Jane Little relies on food donations to help feed her family
Image:
Jane Little relies on food donations to help feed her family

“A lot of people are struggling, people are losing their jobs around here [which] it’s making it worse. “

His city now has the unenviable title of Greater Manchester COVID-19 hotspot.

It is the birthplace of the cooperative movement and that spirit of collaboration for the common good is being reinvented through the pandemic.

Level 3 restrictions are on the way, but Jane has been struggling to keep up with the rules that apply to her for weeks.

“I don’t know anymore, I watch the news and you get depressed and anxious … I don’t know what I should be doing.”

Her priority is simply staying safe and feeding her family.

The latest installment is from the Muslims for Britain group in Rochdale who have been delivering food parcels to people all over the coronavirus pandemic.

Organizer Zak Khan told Sky News: “There is no easy decision when it comes to deciding on these kinds of restrictions.

“For me, it is health before wealth, so we have to accept the rules and do everything we can to ensure that companies continue to survive this difficult time.

“It is potentially catastrophic for many companies, but for me restrictions are absolutely vital to saving lives.”

In the old magistrates court building in Rochdale, volunteers ran their weekly shelter, where people who are struggling can find a hot meal and some support.

Volunteer Leon Hollinrake said the dispute between London and Manchester over the financial package for Level 3 restrictions made little difference to the immediate need they see growing week by week.

Said, “From what I can see at this door, the people of the Rochdale district are going to suffer … they are the … the ones who have been coming here by the hundreds and thousands for the past few months, they are the ones who go To suffer “.

“It’s not just about money, lives are at stake here,” he added.

The mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said he was fighting for a fairer settlement from the government on behalf of the people who will suffer the most from the new restrictions.

People like Jane in Rochdale. Like many people here, you don’t want to have to follow a political drama to find out what’s going on.

She just wants to know what she can do, what she cannot do, and to be sure that she can feed herself and her children. It’s not a great question.

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