PC Joe Burrows, a neighbourhood officer with Greater Manchester Police, made it to the birth of his second child with only a few hours to spare thanks to a programme of COVID-19 testing that is being operated by his force.
PC Burrows lives in Wigan but patrols an area of Bolton. As the delivery date of his second child came closer, PC Burrows started to develop COVID-19 symptoms.
The officer was tested for COVID-19 bu his force but then had to wait 72 hours for the test results to come back.
But the day after PC Burrows was tested, his wife, Gemma went into labour – a week earlier than her due date.
However, PC Burrows still had to wait two days for the results of his test to come back, but he desperately wanted to be by his wife’s side ASAP.
So he contacted Supt. Andrea Quinton, who is currently organising testing for GMP staff and officers, to explain the situation and see if there was anything she could do to help him obtain his test results earlier than the scheduled 72 hrs.
PC Joe Burrows, Baby Georgiana, wife Gemma and Leo
Supt. Andrea Quinton said:
“We are extremely fortunate to be in a position where we have the facility to test our GMP officers and staff, alongside members of their family if they are displaying symptoms.
“As Baby Burrows decided to make an appearance a week early, naturally Joe was really worried at potentially missing the birth of his child.
“Thankfully, I was able to put the request to the National Testing Programme Team, and they were able to push his test result through quickly.
“Joe received his negative test result just 8 hours after my call, and I am really grateful he was able to attend the hospital to be with his wife just a few short hours before his baby girl was born at 1.50 am the following day.”
PC Burrows said:
“I was slightly concerned when Gemma told me she was in labour as she wasn’t due until the following week.
“Thankfully my test results were able to be fast-tracked through and after testing negative, I was able to head into the hospital to be with Gemma just in time to welcome our beautiful baby girl Georgiana into the world.
“We already have a little boy Leo, who is two-and-a-half, so I know Georgiana could have come any moment. I’m so thankful that my results were able to be put through quickly and I could be with Gemma in the hospital.
“At this current time, it’s fantastic to be able to have some positive news to look back on, and I’ll definitely be telling Georgiana all about this when she’s older.”
Department of Health and Social Care Health Minister Lord Bethell said:
“This heart-warming story shows another important benefit of mass testing – a huge congratulations to PC Burrows and his family on the birth of their daughter.
“The Government is rapidly scaling up the national effort to boost testing capacity for frontline workers to protect the vulnerable and ultimately save lives.
“New regional testing sites are helping to end uncertainty of whether key workers need to stay at home, meaning those who test negatively are able to return to work.”
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