Government department map of deaths attributed to coronavirus shows 40 losses in Thanet

17 Comments

1. Lack of social distancing in certain roads in cliftonville west is possibly one of the reasons for these terrible fatalities.

2. Totally agree with KCC Cllr. Barry Lewis – approx. 35-50 tenants & residents on Athelstan Road have not respected the government national lockdown – despite making pandemic advice posters in a variety of languages available & posting them up on communal front hallways, all demographics continue to ignore all advice & warnings, continuing to socialise, all day, every day, weather permitting, despite an increased police presence & specific instructions to return indoors. It is shameful that these members of our community continue to endanger themselves, each other & the wider community by failing to behave in accordance with reason, self preservation & the law – time will only tell if they’ve unknowingly passed the virus onto their friends, families, or others, with fatal consequences. One can only hope they eventually get the message – these shocking figures of Margate fatalities can be of no surprise to the authorities who have witnessed the community behave so irresponsibly, despite local community groups doing all they can to help them see reason & the risks they pose to themselves & to others. Truly appalling.

3. Cliftonville is no more deprived than any other area of Thanet where mass housing occurs. Is this the fault of Central Government, TDC, Authorities who choose to house their residents in Thanet, Landlords or the residents of this area themselves. We will have to wait and see the ethnicity, male or female and the country of origin of the deceased in order to gain a clearer image. Different ethnic groups survive by congregating for meals, coffee and chatting together. Many are reticent to learn a foreign language and some cannot even read their mother tongue.

   Who’s fault is it. Not the many people who attempt to help and educate them it is not society as a whole. They have to learn to help themselves first.

4. Athelstan Road is one road where congregations occur, Arthur Road and Dalby Square being two others. In fact at one house of many multiple occupation in Arthur Rd they have regular barbecues next to the pavement at the front of property all congregating together. Cliftonville West with many shops and takeaways staying open it’s very busy for this time of lockdown, also with a lot of social non-distancing so it is not surprising the figures are higher there. This is a shame and worrying time for those who are taking the regulations seriously, hoping not to become the next victim. We wish the police would show up more often and take it seriously by asking people to go inside, and not just walk past chatting to each other in pairs.

   • I agree with most of the above comments even though I am not at liberty to snitch on anyone for breaking the lockdown, I know because the police confirmed this for me. According to them PPE is not mandatory for key workers let alone anyone else. However the biggest shock to me are all the many take away restaurant workers that believe they are exempt of wearing the protective gear and knowing full well that a huge percentage of their orders are coming from the vulnerable and elders who are self isolating ! In that respect i feel that ignorance has one on this occasion and that is a true shambles of error.

5. Yes isn’t it just.We PAY HIGH WAGES TO POLICE WHO HAVE A DUTY TO UPHOLD ALL LAWS ESPECIALLY THE LOCKDOWN LAWS IN U.K. SO INSTEAD OF THEM WANDERING AROUND CHATTING TO EACH OTHER, WHILE ON DUTY IE IN UNIFORM, THEY ARE TASKED/SUPPOSED TO BE ACTIVELY PREVENTING LAW BREAKING, ESPECIALLY FLAUNTED UNDER THEIR NOSES. WOULD NOT OUR LAW ABIDING, THANET RESIDENTS AGREE? WHY ARE THANET POLICE SO LAZY? COMMANDER NEEDS TO GET ONTO IT PUGSLEY OR WHOEVER IF NOT RETIRED ON ILL HEALTH LIKE ALL HIS PREDECESSORS SEEM TO,DO ANY POLICE ACTUALLY RETIRE AT THE EXTENDED RETIREMENT AGE THAT THE REST OF US HAVE TO?

6. Hear, Hear to all of the above! Perhaps if the police turned up and patrolled the area, suited and booted in PPE from top to toe, and gave out leaflets in various languages, simply saying 15 people have been killed due Covid 19 in this area, inside a few weeks, it may concentrate minds! Also, fine anyone as the law states!

7. The police are not there to constantly nanny people who will not understand the situation.
   There may be other factors at work here.People breaking lock down or social distancing may be factors, but poor health, low incomes, poor living conditions etc are even more significant.
   One other point, it is all very well to point the finger at lock down refusniks, but I know that Cliftonville is HMO central, and much of the other housing is both crowded and in poor condition.If you have no access to a back garden or even a balcony, we can hardly expect people in those circumstances, to endure something we would not put up with ourselves.

8. Complex issues in cliftonville west, but police have not cracked down on serious criminal activity in area that has reported by concerned residents, leading to flouting of social distances. Absent landlords have not been prosecuted enough by Thanet District Council which of course exacerbates the problem as the buildings you mention George are not regarded by their inhabitants as just a building and not a home to stay in.

   • This would be the same tdc that part presided over ekh, non compliance in respect of fire, gas and electrical safety. Decided to cut back on repairs and maintenance to such a degree that they are now doing works during the cv crisis as they are considered emergency works ( railings and balconies allowed to rot for 20 plus years untouched) works first muted 6 years ago.?
     Tdc have had selective licensing in cliftonville for 9 years , no report for the last 5, plus all the other legislation available.
     They use paramount for their emergency housing needs, but paramount won’t use property in cliftonville so problematic tenants are placed in other areas, the st.johns area of margate has become junkie central on the back of the policy, junkies knocking on doors at night begging and gardens having “visitors”.
     But is anything being done? No, until the firebombing at 17 st johns road , the council ignored the issues at the property for over 4 years ( this property is not managed by paramount as far as i know). Even once action was taken the buildings listed status has been ignored in respect of the works done.
     Whilst there are certainly bad private landlords, tdc is hardly a beacon of good practice.

9. Local chap, absolutely correct, tdc have a terrible record of checking private landlords and handing over control to East Kent housing was literally criminal

   • Tdc only want to enforce from behind a desk, so rely on gas certs being out of date etc, but being as incompetent as they are don’t read things properly and are unaware of changes to legislation so get it wrong. No excuse for their properties not being upto standard though. The fire safety regs came in in 2005, well before ekh was formed and yet there are numerous tdc properties that do not comply, or notionally do so as a result of some very selective use of assumption, most noticeably on build dates for some blocks.
     Council are well aware, but as they can’t prosecute themselves just carry on. Councillors equally aware but just stick to the party line if they ever get control and nothing changes.

10. A good way to catch Coronavirus is from supermarket shopping trolley, and basket handles! I know of one store that has a small sign in the front door window, saying please use sanitising gel as you enter the store, and my question is why? Supposing someone unknowingly has the virus, they sanitise their hands as they enter the store, then two minutes later sneeze, coughs, or blow their nose, contaminating the handles of the trolley/basket? It is utterly futile sanitising hands going into a store, when the virus can be passed on this way, and live up to 3 days on a hard surface! Best would be to sanitise hands when people LEAVE the store, and clean the handles down at the same time! This could be one reason why there have been so many deaths in Thanet, and elsewhere due to the virus!

11. Where are the police? I’ve been driving around thanet every day of lockdown, there seemed to be a decent police prescence at the start but now things have got out of hand they seem to be in hiding again. If only thanet police could see just how bad thanet police are at doing their jobs maybe they would start actually cleaning up their act. Yes okay, the public have a self responsibility to make sure they are following the advice for their own safety and others and it’s not surprising to see that the majority of cliftonville are not respecting these guidelines but seriously where are thanet police? This is a good opportunity to show the public that we are wrong about their lack of effort and authority in such an important job role.

12. I’ve only seen the police once where I live which is disgusting. There have been locals flouting the rules from day 1 of the lockdown. Funny thing is before the corona they were often round my way.

13. Checkout the figures which show that covid19 played a part in their deaths with people usually having an underlying health problem and then check out the figures for a bad flu epidemic.No panic or shutdowns when that occurs.You will be surprised at the figures but you have to dig deep and do the research.Did Sweden get it right?

14. I can’t believe the amount of people congregating on Margate Harbour Arm. Youths are causing disturbances to fisherman. Trespassing and climbing onto boats etc. Police have been called and are aware but seemingly doing nothing. People are sitting together Rod and lining on the walls. No social distancing. Other people drinking and congregating on the Harbour Arm daily. To them, lockdown doesnt seem to exist….please our local police, do your job and send people home! There will be another wave of this disease if not kept under control!