Friday 2 October
It has been another exceptionally busy week as we respond to the rising cases of coronavirus in the Borough. You can keep up to date with the latest updates via the Council's News pages.
I caught up with the Council's Managing Director, Julie Danks, and Director of Public Health, Sarah Bowman-Abouna, on Monday ahead of a meeting with Leaders and Chief Executives from the Local Authorities which make up the Tees Valley. At the virtual meeting we discussed an update from Public Health on coronavirus across the Tees Valley and also the national Covid-19 picture.
Later on Monday I was joined by the Deputy Leader, Councillor Jim Beall, as we again caught up with Julie and Sarah to discuss the rising cases of Covid-19 in the Borough and our response.
It was another very busy day in the diary on Tuesday. Firstly, I was joined by the Council's Director of Finance and Business Service, Gary Cummings, in a meeting via Microsoft Teams. We looked at the Council's ongoing recovery as well as the particular financial implications of Covid-19.
I then attended my regular catch-up with the Council's Managing Director, Julie Danks, and Deputy Leader, Councillor Jim Beall.
My day finished with a Members' Briefing which was held via Microsoft Teams. The agenda included updates on the Borough's town centres and also the latest performance data from the Hampton by Hilton hotel.
I again caught up virtually with Sarah Bowman-Abouna on Wednesday to discuss the Council's ongoing response to coronavirus. It's vital to be up to speed every day as it is still a very fast-moving situation nearly seven months after we were first discussing the virus.
Another meeting with Leaders and Chief Executives from the Local Authorities which make up the Tees Valley was held via Microsoft Teams on Thursday. We again discussed a Public Health coronavirus update across the Tees Valley and also the developing situations across the country.
On Thursday afternoon I chaired the Local Outbreak Engagement Group meeting where we discussed the latest coronavirus case numbers in Stockton-on-Tees. Directly following this I briefed Cabinet Members on the latest on Covid-19 in the Borough.
Today I again attended my regular catch-up with Julie Danks and Councillor Jim Beall. Following on from this my working week ended with an update on Covid-19 for Council Group Leaders.
This weekend I am looking forward to tuning in to watch Middlesbrough take on Barnsley. It has been a solid, if not spectacular, start to the season for Boro which has been disrupted by Neil Warnock contracting coronavirus. Thankfully he is fully recovered now and it would be great for his side to get their first win of the season tomorrow.