 You must continue to play your part and stay at home. The single most important action we can all take is to stay at home to protect our loved ones, the NHS and save lives.
Leaving home
You must not leave or be outside of your home except where necessary. You may only leave the home to:
• shop for basic necessities, for you or a vulnerable person
• go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home
• exercise with your household (or support bubble) or one other person, this should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.
• meet your support bubble or childcare bubble where necessary, but only if you are legally permitted to form one
• seek medical assistance or avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse)
• attend education or childcare - for those eligible
You should not meet other people you do not live with, or have formed a support bubble with, unless for a permitted reason.
Stay two metres apart from anyone not in your household.
If you do leave home for a permitted reason, you should always stay local. You may leave your local area for a legally permitted reason, such as for work.
If you leave home without a reasonable excuse, you can be given a Fixed Penalty Notice of £200 for the first offence, doubling for further offences up to a maximum of £6,400.
 People who have been identified as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) must stay at home and only leave the house to exercise outside and attend medical appointments.
• You can still remain in your support bubble, but you must not meet with people you do not live with unless they are part of your support bubble.
• Try to stay two metres away from other people within your household, especially if they display symptoms of the virus or have been advised to self-isolate.
• You are advised not to go to the shops. Use online shopping if you can or ask others to collect and deliver shopping or medicines for you. You can register to access priority online supermarket deliveries.
• You can still receive care at home from professional social care and medical professionals as well as informal care at home from people within your support bubble.
• You should only exercise locally with your own household/support bubble.
• Anyone who does leave their home should follow the hands, face, space rules.
• You are strongly advised to work from home, if you cannot work from home, then you should not attend work. If you are unable to work in your normal role or do all of your usual tasks from home, you should discuss whether there are any alternative arrangements that can be made with your employer, including considering using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough).
Help for those who are shielding, including with shopping and prescription collection, is available from the Bracknell Forest Community Response in partnership with The Ark. Call 01344 266911 or email community@theark.org.uk
 The COVID-19 vaccine programme is being rolled out. The vaccines have been shown to be effective in clinical trials and have a good safety record. The NHS will be contacting people directly regarding their vaccine. You do not need to contact your GP surgery to get an appointment, they will contact you.
In Bracknell Forest the vaccines are currently being delivered at the Waitrose Sports Hall as well as a new second site at Ringmead Medical Practice’s Birch Hill Medical Centre, as part of the The Health Triangle Primary Care Network – comprising Ringmead Medical Practice, Evergreen Practice and Crownwood Medical Centre.
An independent group of experts has recommended that the NHS first offers these vaccines to those at highest risk of catching the disease and suffering serious complications or dying from COVID-19. This includes older adults in care homes, the over 80s, frontline health and social care workers and the over 70s.
When more vaccine becomes available, they will be offered to other people at risk as soon as possible.
To find out more visit: Gov.uk.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended that as many people on the priority list as possible should be offered a first vaccine dose as the initial priority. They have advised that the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine may be given between three to 12 weeks following the first dose, and that the second dose of the AstraZeneca (Oxford) vaccine may be given between four to 12 weeks following the first dose.
The NHS has been re-scheduling appointments for residents aged 80 and over to receive their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in line with these national changes.
The changes have been backed by the four UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) who have said 'Prioritising the first doses of vaccine for as many people as possible on the priority list will protect the greatest number of at risk people overall in the shortest possible time. This will also have the greatest impact on reducing mortality, severe disease and hospitalisations and in protecting the NHS and equivalent health services.’
Two doses of the vaccine are still needed to get the best protection from the virus.
For more information, visit GOV.UK.
Sadly there have been reports of scams around the COVID-19 vaccine programme. People should be aware that the vaccine programme is being run by the NHS only and is free.
The NHS will never:
• ask for your bank account or card details
• ask for your PIN or bank password
• arrive unannounced at your home to administer the vaccine
• ask you to prove your identity by sending copies of personal documents such as your passport, driving licence, utility bill or pay slips
If you are a victim of a fraud, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or www.actionfraud.police.uk
 Bracknell Forest residents who are most at risk of catching and spreading COVID-19 without knowing it will soon be able to start asymptomatic testing twice a week.
Community testing will be offered to:
• critical and key workers, who are not already being offered testing
• anyone who is required to leave home for work or a crucial activity or for the management of local COVID-19 outbreaks.
Please note this is different to the new walk-in centre at Bracknell Leisure Centre which should be used by people with symptoms. (see story below)
 A walk-through COVID-19 testing facility opened at Bracknell Leisure Centre this week, as part of the Government’s UK-wide drive to improve the accessibility of coronavirus testing for communities. From Saturday 23 January the centre will be open 8am-8pm seven days a week.
You can apply for a test online or by calling 119.
If you have COVID-19 symptoms you must self-isolate immediately (alongside your household) and apply for a test.
The main COVID-19 symptoms are:
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a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
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a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
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a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
Self-isolating means you do not leave home for any reason other than to get a test. You must not leave home to get food or to exercise.
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