As coronavirus slows to a 'trickle' in Blackpool, health bosses say they are preparing for a second wave later this year

The number of new confirmed cases of the coronavirus has plummeted, while there are now just a handful of patients being treated for the disease at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, down from around 150 at the height of the pandemic.

But Dr Jim Gardner, the hospital's medical director, said he was "anxious" about the near future, and described the current situation as a "phony war" - a term coined to describe an eerily quiet six-month period of the Second World War.

At the end of last week, he said there were just seven Covid-positive patients in hospital, with four new diagnoses in the last week.

While the hospital remains busy after restarting planned operations, including for cancer and heart patients, Dr Gardner warned: "The anxiety, then, is about keeping the NHS and hospital functioning, while at the same time keeping this contingency should we see the numbers start to come up again.

"If that happens, we will have to start cancelling the other elective work which we have restarted, so we are trying to hold a sensible balance between being ready again for any increase in Covid and managing this trickle that is coming through now, whilst at the same time addressing the health needs of the rest of the population."

And Dr Gardner said the Vic, as well as the Clifton Hospital in St Annes, "absolutely" has to remain battle ready.

He added: "We are still doing training, and we are still making modifications in the hospital to keep pushing on that safety issue.

"We are separating beds further, we are putting more perspex screens up, we have introduced a one-way system this week around the hospital in terms of the way people move around.

"All of these little things are adding together to try and stay on top of safety for the staff and patients."

Blackpool's director of public health, Dr Arif Rajpura, told a recent council meeting the town must be prepared for a second wave.

Lessons learnt from tackling the first surge will help in the winter months, he said, while urging residents to continue to wash their hands regularly and social distance, which he said would also reduce the spread of other illnesses such as flu and Norovirus, which is also known as the winter vomiting bug.

Speaking over a video call, Dr Rajpura said: "The whole system is planning for winter now.

"If we have Covid, it will be on top of flu and all the other winter pressures, so the NHS is gearing up for a second wave."

Dr Rajpura said a vaccine is unlikely "until early next year at the earliest", when it would be given to the most vulnerable people and key workers first.

In the meantime, it is important to reinforce public health messages to prevent infections from spreading, he said.

Dr Rajpura added: "Social distancing, the 'Catch it, bin it, kill it' message, and washing hands, etc, will also reduce the impact of flu and Norovirus, etc."

But he said staying in lockdown forever "was not an option", so it is also time to balance the Covid risk with non-Covid risks.

This includes making decisions on whether people can visit care homes, given the impact of the ban on residents' mental health.

A special task force has been set up in Blackpool to tackle localised outbreaks in the resort, while the council is also part of the national track and trace system.