Stoke leisure and museum staff return after Covid surge

The Gladstone Potteries Museum is one of the attractions that closed

Museum and leisure staff sent to other council posts during the Omicron surge have returned to their normal jobs.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council said it shut leisure services, the Gladstone Museum, and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery on Christmas Eve to allow the switch, but all would now re-open.

The staff worked with waste services, adult social care and contact tracing, and also supported vaccination rollout.

The move was made when Covid-19 cases started to rise sharply.

Council leader, Abi Brown, said: "At the moment, our city still has a high number of Covid-19 cases, but thankfully, it looks like the infection rates in the city may be starting to slow down."

She added she was "very proud" of the response from staff.

One of the first events to be held at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery will be the Chinese New Year celebrations on 6 February, which in previous years have attracted about 3,500 visitors.

That museum has been gradually re-opening this week, with the Gladstone Potteries Museum due to re-open on 17 January.

New Horizons Sport and Leisure Centre in Chell, The Wallace Sports and Education Centre in Abbey Hulton, Burslem Gymnastics Centre and Northwood Stadium are also due to re-open on 17 January, with some restrictions in place.

Some leisure services have already resumed.

Libraries will be running a "call, click and collect" service.