Wakefield asylum centre Covid-19 outbreak 'putting lives at risk'

The dispersal of 84 residents at an accommodation centre for asylum seekers without being tested for Covid-19 is putting lives at risk, campaigners say.

More than 20 people have tested positive at Urban House, Wakefield, since the outbreak last week, the council said.

Campaigners said they believed cases were higher, citing a figure of 35.

Mears Group, which runs the centre, said the move and testing was "on the advice of public health authorities".

It said Urban House was "under lockdown" and was following "Public Health guidance".

South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG) said residents, who were dispersed on Friday, were being sent to "unsuitable properties" across Yorkshire and the North East, which were either "filthy or not decorated and without adequate heating".

It claimed operators were "not following their own policy", with occupants receiving facemasks and hand sanitisers for "the first time on Friday", the day after the outbreak.

John Grayson, former chair of SYMAAG and researcher, described the situation as "chaos".

"The reports coming out of Urban House don't reflect what I know from actual people who are being moved out of Urban House to various parts of Yorkshire and the North East," he said.

"They've been ringing us and telling us that they're desperate."

Mr Grayson said residents had told him "people were sent out untested", and he was concerned the dispersal was putting "a lot of people at risk".

He claimed toilets were left unclean and there had been "no healthcare provisions over the weekend", despite the company saying there would be "weekend health assistance as required".

Mr Grayson also claimed communication was "a problem", leaving residents angry because they were not being told what was happening. He described conditions in the centre as "appalling" since the start of the lockdown.

"We were crossing our fingers and hoping that it didn't get worse because of the hygiene conditions in there.

"There's no social distancing in the place and we were all hoping that [the outbreak] didn't happen."

Wakefield Council said NHS staff were on site five days per week with "procedures in place" for Urban House staff to provide assistance for the remainder.

It said "every resident" had been offered a test on site and it was "treating Urban House as one household", with residents being asked to self-isolate for 14 days.

Mears Group has previously said: "Testing has been arranged for all those who have been moved."

It subsequently said "disclosure of information on medical records and testing" was a decision for health authorities.

A spokesman said all alternative accommodation had met contractual standards and was "prepared and cleaned prior" to residents moving in, while bathroom facilities at Urban House were regularly cleaned and checked "throughout the day".

Social distancing arrangements were in place for mealtimes, and Urban House supported the measures during the pandemic, with information provided to residents in their first language, he added.

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