VV_June July Web 20-compressed

Village Voice June/July 2020
that first week the number of confirmed cases
recorded by Bucks NHS rose from 1 to 41,
although it is now known the actual figure was
much higher.
On Thursday 19 March representatives from
the Residents’ Society, Village Care, Village
Voice, Chepping Wycombe and Penn parish
councils, St Margaret’s & Holy Trinity
churches, the Penn Patient Participation Group,
the Women’s Institute and the P&TG Scouts all
met in St Margaret’s church - all sitting a
comfortable two metres apart - to form Penn &
Tylers Green Together, aimed at providing a
network of people who could help others in
their immediate area. By the end of the week it
was up and running.
In the local shops and supermarkets there was
panic buying. They ran out of soap, disinfectant
and toilet rolls.
March 23 to March 29
The lockdown began to bite as people followed
Government advice to stay home and more
workforces stayed in isolation because they had,
or had contact with, the symptoms. All
“non-essential” shops were closed. Train and
bus services were reduced - just one service an
hour between Penn and Wycombe. Postal
deliveries became less regular. The police
reassigned neighbourhood officers to front line
duty and began stopping motorists to ensure
they were on “essential” visits. They dealt with
a four fold increase in attempted online fraud.
Inquests and courts ceased operations, the
churches were closed even for private prayer,
the rubbish tips were closed and bin collections
further restricted. Adult day centre sessions
were suspended and local playgrounds were
closed. Cliveden and other National Trust
properties closed and the Henley and Marlow
regattas were cancelled.
The number of of confirmed cases more than
tripled in Bucks Hospitals and 21 year old
Chloe Middleton, a carer from Holtspur,
became the youngest Covid-19 victim in the
country to die.
Pictures of rainbows began appearing in the
windows and on Thursday 26 March many
hundreds of people in the community came out
onto their doorsteps at 8pm to applaud NHS and
other key workers who were risking their lives
for the rest of us. Intensive care nurse Katie
Surman wrote on Facebook: “I was completely
overwhelmed by all the clapping and cheering.”
Council car parking changes were abolished,
mainly to enable key workers to use their cars
instead of using public transport.
Nearly 300 people volunteered to help P&TG
Together to provide assistance, when required,
for their neighbours. Wycombe, Amersham and
Stoke Mandeville Hospitals asked for
volunteers to to help with non-clinical tasks.
They were overwhelmed with the response.
30 March to 5 April
Local hospitals made emergency
changes to deal with an anticipated
flood of cases as experts predicted the
approaching peak of the virus. All
urgent cancer surgery was transferred
to the Chiltern Hospital as part of an
agreement between the NHS and
private hospitals. A 22 bed ward
mothballed at Amersham Hospital last
summer was reopened and nonessential
services there suspended. All
breast and bowel screening
programmes were suspended;
26 www.pennandtylersgreen.org.uk