Wiltshire councillor warns pandemic threat must not slip off radar

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 12 Oct, 11:26 · Archive

A Wiltshire councillor has urged the council to keep pandemic threats on its risk register after a suspected plague case in Russia.

Richard Clewer, Conservative group leader at Wiltshire Council, has warned that the threat of another pandemic must not disappear from the council's attention. Cllr Clewer, who was deputy leader when Covid-19 struck and served as council leader from 2021 onwards, raised his concerns as Wiltshire Council's Cabinet reviewed its risk register—the document that outlines current and potential threats to the council's services and ambitions.

His warning was prompted by reports of a suspected pneumonic plague case in Russia. A 28-year-old worker at an anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk, Siberia, developed severe pneumonia and died in early October. Reports suggested possible plague exposure, leading authorities to monitor nearly 200 contacts.

Cllr Clewer expressed alarm that future pandemic threats do not appear on the council's current risk register. He questioned why pandemic flu, which had previously been listed as the council's 'top risk', no longer features. He noted the comparison between the Russian case and the fictional scenario depicted in the book Biological War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen, which imagines plague being released from a Siberian research laboratory and causing an international outbreak.

Reflecting on Wiltshire's experience of Covid-19, Cllr Clewer said the pandemic was "not fun", pointing to the deaths, harm caused, and significant disruption and workload it created for the council. His comments underscore concerns that pandemic preparedness may have slipped down the political and administrative agenda in the years since the Covid emergency ended.

How it is being reported

• Wiltshire councillor warns pandemic threat must not 'slip off the radar'Wiltshire councillor Richard Clewer urges pandemic risks stay on the council radar after a suspected pneumonic plague case in Russia, as UK Covid and flu rise.Salisbury Journal · 12 Oct, 10:54
• Wiltshire warned it 'must be prepared for plague'A senior councillor has warned the threat of another pandemic must not slip off the council’s radar amid fears of a suspected plague case in Russia.Gazette & Herald · 12 Oct, 10:13
• Wiltshire warned it 'must be prepared for plague'A senior councillor has warned the threat of another pandemic must not slip off the council’s radar amid fears of a suspected plague case in Russia.Swindon Advertiser · 12 Oct, 10:13

In this story: Richard Clewer · Wiltshire Council · Irkutsk · Russia · Annie Jacobsen

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