The 270 asylum seekers who have been moved into the Metropole Hotel are to be screened by medics according to a report in The Lancashire Telegraph. The Director of Public Health for Blackpool, Dr Arif Rajpura, has told a full council meeting that the vaccine van was being used to deliver Covid jabs from the Metropole car park. Health assessments for the asylum seekers will include Covid testing and offering vaccinations where required.

He also reported to the Council details about the current Covid situation in Blackpool saying: ‘We’ll have Covid cases rising at times, we’ll have flu, other viruses and all the other things winter brings. The health and social care system is already under pressure so it’s really important to keep up with measures like hand washing, getting the vaccine and social distancing. Do that and get to April and maybe we can look forward to a post-pandemic world.’