An coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak at Manchester Piccadilly train station has forced dozens of staff into self-isolation after 11 people are confirmed to have tested positive.
Avanti – which runs the West Coast Mainline route from Manchester to London – has confirmed an outbreak at Piccadilly, which is managed by Network Rail.
It’s understood a staff member took a COVID-19 test last Monday before arriving for his shift on Tuesday, and then received a positive test result later that day. It was at this point he informed his managers, and now some 11 Avanti staff members have subsequently tested positive, with a further 25 self-isolating after having contact with the affected individual.
In total, 42 of the 95 Avanti workforce in Manchester are currently now in self-isolation, although it’s thought that not all are linked to this case.
Avanti West Coast bosses say they acted as soon as they were made aware of the positive test.
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The operator retraced the employee’s movements to send “around 10” of their colleagues home, and they said a further 15 workers were contacted via the NHS Track and Trace App and were told to self-isolate.
The area where the affected individual worked was closed immediately and underwent a specialist deep clean overnight.
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Wikimedia Commons
Dave Whitehouse – Safety and Security Director at Avanti West Coast – said: “We’re providing support for all of our people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and those self-isolating at home.
“We’ve been in regular contact; providing advice and guidance as well as stringently following government guidelines [and] we are cooperating fully with Public Health England North West and the local authority.
“As soon as we were aware of the positive test, we confirmed the member of staff’s movements and sent a number of their colleagues home immediately. A further 15 were contacted via the NHS Track and Trace App and told to self-isolate.’
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He confirmed the deep clean took place and added: “Throughout the pandemic we have ensured our people can carry out their duties in a COVID-safe manner.”
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Scott Green – Manchester Piccadilly station manager for Network Rail – said: “We have offered support to Avanti West Coast during its staffing issues due to COVID-19.”
He added that the affected area is separate from other staff areas in the station.
Mr Green continued: “Manchester Piccadilly is open and operating as normal.
“We have regular and rigorous cleaning regimes in place so passengers can travel with confidence. We’d urge passengers to wear a face covering unless exempt for medical reasons, use the numerous hand sanitising points and follow the one-way systems when travelling through the station.”
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
The Manc -
11th November 2020 
