By Sammie Jones-
The choice of military support in Birmingham was used at to save money, a member of the council has suggested.
The drafting of the military to help with the coronavirus testing programme in Birmingham was chosen to save money, rather than to appear militant. Insiders at Birmingham office
An insider from Birmingham Council told The Eye Of Media.Com that the use of soldiers was mainly because using the police would not have seemed appropriate, and it would have been more costly to use any other personnel.
They council member who was not authorised to speak officially about the matter said the fact the army didn’t have to be paid for knocking on doors made it the more economic decision to make in giving people a higher opportunity to be tested for Covid-19
The Council member was responding to complaints that soldiers were seen knocking door to door in Birmingham. About 100 military personnel will aid Birmingham City Council with its “drop and collect” testing programme.
At a weekly briefing prior to the use of soldiers, Birmingham council’s deputy leader had said it would assist civilian efforts to maximise the numbers of tests able to be done. The armed forces have been used since the beginning of the pandemic
It comes as the number of cases in the city reached 107.6 per 100,000 people – the highest in the West Midlands.
Soldiers conducting door to door knocking Image: Jack Harding
The “drop and collect service” sees tests dropped off at a resident’s door and then collected by staff.
The council official said: ” the service is focused at areas with high rates of infection. It’s aim is to provide a service to people who can’t leave their homes and to encourage those who may not be proactive in getting tested.
Another official added: ”The soldiers who knocked door to door had visibility jackets with Birmingham Council written on them, so there is no question of people posing as soldiers. The soldiers do not pressure people to take Covid-19 tests, tests are completely optional. However, it helps those who may not be able to get to teste centres because of lack of transport or other reasons”.
More than 30 wards in the city have reportedly seen spikes in infection rates. An increase in testing is said to have been more than matched by the rate of positive cases to tests has also increased to 6.7%.