Coronavirus (COVID-19): Members Update
Your weekly round up of the latest coronavirus response updates in Cumbria.
In this briefing:
Cumbria Covid cases continue to rise, as Barrow restrictions remain in place
|
Confirmed COVID-19 cases have continued to rise across the county according to the latest data published today.
105 new cases were recorded in the week ending 18 September, up from 82 cases the previous week. For the third week running Barrow had the highest number of new cases of all Cumbrian districts, with 38.
Barrow’s infection rate continues to be well above the national average with 57 cases per 100,000 compared to 35 per 100,000 for the whole of England.
In Barrow the advice that groups of six should be limited to people from no more than two households remains in place and will be reviewed next week. The additional restrictions on hospital, care home and school visitors also remain.
However, with the exception of Barrow, the number of new cases being reported in the county continues to be significantly below other areas in the north west.
Over 13,000 tests were carried out during the week with just under 1% returning a positive result.
New cases continue to be most common on the 15-29 years age group, but with increasing evidence of spread amongst older age groups.
The latest situation update can be found at www.cumbria.gov.uk/stopthespread.
Colin Cox, Cumbria’s Director of Public Health, said:
“While we are behind other areas in the north west which is a good thing, the numbers are all heading in the wrong direction and that is of real concern. Government has introduced new measures this week to try and stem the increase, but it remains to be seen whether they will have any impact. It remains the case that wearing a face covering, washing hands and maintaining social distancing are the key things we should all be doing.
“Last week for Barrow we issued strong guidance to local people about mixing between households, that remains in place and we will formally review it next week. Generally for the whole of the county, if people can take steps to limit their social contact that will help slow the spread of infection. We know its not what people want, but acting now could help us avoid formal restrictions being imposed.
“I’d also like to repeat my call for people to download the new NHS Test & Trace App that was launched today. The more people using it, the more effective it will be in helping control the virus.”
The NHS Test & Trace App can be downloaded from https://covid19.nhs.uk/.
Keeping everyone safe and well during this difficult time is Cumbria County Council’s priority and as such we recognise that Cumbria Libraries offer a vital service to many people and to their local communities.
With new and ever-changing national restrictions it is more important than ever to occupy our minds and have access to local support and services. Our libraries are key to this, particularly in some of our more rural and isolated areas, where branch libraries play a crucial role in the community.
Thanks to careful planning and investment by Cumbria County Council, a selection of our branch libraries will provide a COVID-safe environment where there really is ‘something for everyone’ – reopening to customers on Wednesday 21 October.
This follows the reopening of the county council’s six main libraries (Carlisle, Penrith, Workington, Whitehaven, Kendal, Barrow) in August, and now after careful preparation plans are in place to reopen an additional 12 branch libraries across the county on Wednesday 21 October.
These are:
- Brampton Library
- Longtown Library
- Roose Library
- Maryport Library
- Wigton Library
- Millom Library
- Cleator Moor Library
- Appleby Library
- Grange Library
- Ulverston Library
- Windermere Library
- Ambleside Library
Cllr Deborah Earl, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Local Communities, said:
“We know how much people value our library services and we continue to work hard towards reopening 12 of our branch libraries next month, alongside the new offers available, such as Select & Collect, Online story-times and an easy book drop/return service.
“We also recognise that for some, they still need that face to face interaction but want this to be in a safe and secure environment. We have worked hard to ensure that all of our libraries are COVID-safe, with the highest standards of hygiene and customer care. We have committed significant investment and made extensive alterations to ensure the safety of our staff and customers.
“We feel that at the current time, the support and wellbeing of our communities is key – libraries have a key role to play – and this is why we have made the decision to open a selection of local branch libraries for the benefit of our customers.
“The county council’s Public Health experts have also confirmed that our libraries are extremely low risk environments and that the council has carried out all the necessary work to make them COVID safe spaces.”
To protect the health and safety of library staff and customers, new Covid-secure measures are in place at all our libraries that are open to staff and / or the public.
Key changes include:
- Hand sanitiser stations are located at entrances and exits and customers are advised to use them.
- Signage and floor markings are in place to promote 2 metres social distancing and to help people find their way around safely.
- Customers are required to wear face coverings unless an exemption applies and library staff will be wearing Personal Protective Equipment.
- Access to each library and its computers will be limited at first to allow library staff to safely manage the number of visitors.
- Toilets and baby-changing facilities are temporarily closed to the public.
- Fines incurred during our temporary closure will be waived until 31st December, so customers don’t have to worry about returning overdue items immediately.
- Any returned books, including those borrowed before lockdown, will be quarantined for 72 hours before going back into circulation.
More information on plans to reopen some of our branch libraries can be found online or at cumbria.gov.uk/libraries.
The national NHS Test and Trace App is now available. The app is key part of the country’s fight against COVID-19.
Cumbrians are being strongly encouraged to download the app to their smartphones now.
The app is available to download from https://covid19.nhs.uk/.
The app will be used, alongside traditional contact tracing, to notify users if they come into contact with someone who later tests positive for coronavirus.
The app will also help local authorities understand if the virus is spreading in their area, helping them to respond quickly to stop it spreading further and save lives. The app does this while protecting a user’s anonymity. Nobody, including the government, will know who or where a particular user is.
What the app does
The app provides a number of functions:
- Contact tracing - alerting you if you have been near other app users who have tested positive
- Local alerts - lets you know the level of risk in your postcode district
- Check-in - check-in to venues and get alerted if you may have come into contact with a positive case
- Symptoms - check your symptoms
- Test - book a test and get your results via the app
- Isolate - keep track of your self-isolation and access advice
Colin Cox, Cumbria County Council's Director of Public Health, said:
“I’m strongly encouraging people to download the app. The more people who use it the more powerful it becomes in helping us stop the spread of this virus. I know it has been a long time coming and people may be sceptical, but the trials of the system elsewhere in the country have gone well and it’s clear this is an important weapon in our fight against COVID-19.
"I want to stress that the app cannot be used to identify you, track you, check if you are self-isolating or by law enforcement, but it can make a significant difference to our ability to keep the virus under control."
Find out more about the app.
This week, the government announced further national measures to address rising cases of coronavirus in England.
It is critical that everybody observes the following key behaviours:
- HANDS - Wash your hands regularly and for at least 20 seconds.
- FACE - Cover your face in enclosed spaces, especially where social distancing may be difficult and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet.
- SPACE - Stay 2 metres apart where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place.
Face Coverings
- Customers in private hire vehicles and taxis must wear face coverings (from 23 September).
- Customers in hospitality venues must wear face coverings, except when seated at a table to eat or drink. Staff in hospitality and retail will now also be required to wear face coverings (from 24 September).
- People who are already exempt from the existing face covering obligations, such as because of an underlying health condition, will continue to be exempt from these new obligations.
- Guidance stating that face coverings and visors should be worn in close contact services will now become law (from 24 September).
- Staff working on public transport and taxi drivers will continue to be advised to wear face coverings.
Working from home
To help contain the virus, office workers who can work effectively from home should do so over the winter. Where an employer, in consultation with their employee, judges an employee can carry out their normal duties from home they should do so. Public sector employees working in essential services, including education settings, should continue to go into work where necessary. Anyone else who cannot work from home should go to their place of work. The risk of transmission can be substantially reduced if COVID-19 secure guidelines are followed closely. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk.
Businesses
- Businesses selling food or drink (including cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants), social clubs, casinos, bowling alleys, amusement arcades (and other indoor leisure centres or facilities), funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks and activities, and bingo halls, must be closed between 10pm and 5am. This will include takeaways but delivery services can continue after 10pm (from 24 September).
- In licensed premises, food and drink must be ordered from, and served at, a table.
- Customers must eat and drink at a table in any premises selling food and drink to consume indoors, on site (from 24 September).
- Businesses will need to display the official NHS QR code posters so that customers can ‘check-in’ at different premises using this option as an alternative to providing their contact details once the app is rolled out nationally (from 24 September).
- Businesses and organisations will face stricter rules to make their premises COVID Secure (from 28 September):
- A wider range of leisure and entertainment venues, services provided in community centres, and close contact services will be subject to the COVID-19 Secure requirements in law and fines of up to £10,000 for repeated breaches.
- Employers must not knowingly require or encourage someone who is being required to self-isolate to come to work.
- Businesses must remind people to wear face coverings where mandated.
Meeting people safely
-
Support groups must be limited to a maximum of 15 people (from 24 September).
- Indoor organised sport for over 18s will no longer be exempt from the rule of six. There is an exemption for indoor organised team sports for disabled people (from 24 September).
- There will be a new exemption in those areas of local intervention where household mixing is not allowed to permit friends and family to provide informal childcare for children under 14 (from 24 September).
- Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies and receptions will be restricted to a maximum of 15 people (down from 30). Other significant standalone life events will be subject to the ‘rule of six’ limits, except funerals (from 28 September).
Government has announced an initial £60 million to support additional enforcement activity by local authorities and the police, in addition to funding that has already been awarded.
The spread of the virus is also affecting our ability to reopen business conferences, exhibition halls and large sporting events, so we will not be able to do this from 1 October.
The government’s expectation is the measures described above will need to remain in place until March.
As of Wednesday 24 September 2020, 409,729 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK (pillar 1 and 2) and there has been 41,862 deaths.
Further information on the data is available at https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/.
Announcements
Public Health England, working in partnership with NHS England, have launched a new, dynamic campaign to drive uptake of the flu vaccination. The campaign will support the overall flu vaccination programme to reach the recommended vaccine uptake targets, helping to reduce the burden from flu on the NHS this winter.
The flu vaccination campaign, is part of the award winning 'Help Us, Help You' campaign brand, which this year has been adapted to fully leverage COVID-19 to ‘reframe the risks’, add urgency and maximise cut through and impact of campaign activity.
The campaign launched with a PR announcement this week with marketing running from early October into December. The campaign will consist of TV, radio and digital (social and display) advertising supported by search and partnership activity. It is aimed at the groups most at risk from flu and those who could spread it to people more vulnerable: pregnant women; parents of children aged 2-11 years old; adults with underlying health conditions; those aged 65 years and over; and household contacts of those on the patient list of the shielded for COVID-19. Subject to vaccine availability, 50-64-year old’s will also be eligible for the free jab later in the programme and will be targeted.
This year, the programme is being expanded to help protect people from flu and ease pressure on the NHS and urgent care services.
The county council is working closely with local health partners to promote uptake of the flu vaccine across Cumbria. More information can be found at cumbria.gov.uk/healthandwellbeing/fluvaccine.asp.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak presented the Winter Economy Plan to Parliament on Thursday 24 September 2020 to outline how the government will support jobs and the economy over the coming months.
Read more.
Agencies across Cumbria are continuing to share trusted information, advice and guidance and you can help by sharing this on your own social media accounts.
Every share or retweet means we reach more people and spread important messages wider across our communities.
@Cumbria Twitter
@CumbriaCC Facebook
|
