A team of Covid Community Support Officers are hitting the streets of Kirklees visiting more than 100 businesses a day.

The Kirklees Council officers will be out and about in local communities, providing reassurance and advice to residents. By the end of March there will be more than 40 CCSOs on the streets.

The CCSOs will work closely with essential businesses to provide support in making sure premises continue to be Covid secure.

There were previously 16 CCSOs but a further 14 will join this week with another 13 due at the end of March.

The CCSOs are providing an approachable, visible presence in communities to encourage Covid safe behaviour and are currently visiting around 100 business per day.

The first cohort of officers have visited every place of worship in Kirklees to assist in making sure that they are able to provide a Covid safe environment for their worshippers and congregations.

Safety message on the streets of Huddersfield

Clr Paul Davies, Cabinet Member for Culture & Greener Kirklees, said: “The extra recruitment of officers will be significant in assisting our businesses as we move through the roadmap which the Government has proposed.

“As we begin to see non-essential shops and the hospitality sector open once again it’s vital that we have the resources in place to support those businesses so that they can operate to the best of their ability while keeping our residents safe.

“The officers who have been visiting businesses over the previous weeks have been welcomed by business owners and we are thankful for the co-operation we have seen from the majority in Kirklees.”