Friday 15 May 2020
We've seen some changes this week. Recycling centres have started to reopen in a limited way; we've moved from staying at home, to staying alert, and since Wednesday we've been allowed more exercise and travel.
Unlike lockdown, which came quite suddenly, the re-starting of things has to be a gradual process. Relatively simple announcements - some schools will open from June 1, for example - need a lot of consideration and planning to ensure that these things happen safely.
As we move into this next phase, we're doing so gradually and with care to make sure that the decisions we make are the right ones.
You too will be doing that, in the decisions and actions that you take.
The sun may be shining again this weekend, and as limits are lifted a little, we may be tempted to flock to the beach or moors.
We'd like you to please 'think twice'. Think about risks and please continue to wash your hands regularly and abide by the social distancing guidelines.
In this update:
 We're asking everyone to 'think twice'
We've joined forces with partners across the South West to warn would-be tourists, second home owners and visitors to the region to 'think twice' about coming.
A wealth of organisations from health and tourism, local councils, police and others, are reinforcing the message to 'come back later' to the South West and avoid overwhelming our local hospitals and health service.
While some services are re-opening, many of the region's car parks, toilets and tourist hot spots remain closed.
And many residents have taken to social media to express their concern about visitors bringing the virus, crowds gathering at popular tourist locations and beaches, and the lack of facilities open for them if they choose to try and travel here.
 Helping walkers and cyclists to socially distance
We're looking at ways to support social distancing for walkers and cyclists.
The government has announced some funding. We're waiting to hear details, but we'd like to use it to possibly change the local road network to improve walking and cycling routes.
We'd focus on key travel to work routes, town and city centres, and local residential and commercial areas. And we're looking at narrow pavements, which restrict people's movements, and areas where walking and cycling routes can be extended and improved.
We've got some ideas - things we could do to widen footpaths and introduce cycleways, and ways to segregate people from traffic - but we want to work with town and parish councils and businesses as well to make the improvements.
 Tour of Britain postponed until 2021
Organisers of the Tour of Britain have announced that this year’s race has been postponed.
We were due to host Stage Two of this year’s race in September with a route that was planned to start in Sherford and finish in Exeter. But because of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak the event has been re-scheduled for September 2021.
A statement from the Tour says:
"Across the UK there are significant doubts around the potential to stage large-scale public events and gatherings such as the Tour of Britain as early as September and while any form of social distancing remains in place and there isn't a vaccine available, people's health and safety must come first."
 #BeTickAware
If you’re thinking of going further afield for your daily exercise, walking on the moors and in woodland, you need to #BeTickAware.
Ticks are blood-sucking members of the spider family that can transmit bacteria and cause infections such as Lyme Disease, which can be serious if not treated.
Tick activity increases in Spring which is when the risk of tick bites is highest. You can prevent tick bites by walking on clearly defined paths, avoiding dense vegetation, using insect repellent and performing regular checks.
If you do get bitten, remove ticks with fine-tipped tweezers or a tick-removal tool, grip the head as close to the skin as possible and pull upwards. You need to remove the tick quickly and correctly to reduce any potential risk of infection.
 Please don't queue on the roads
Most of our Household Waste Recycling Centres re-opened this week, just for essential use only. That means it's just for people who are unable to safely store waste at their home or dispose of it legally some other way.
It's been busy, and while it's gone OK so far, there have been situations where traffic has queued back along the roads, causing a safety issue for them and other road users.
We've needed to issue an appeal again to people not to queue on the roads causing a safety hazard. Public safety is the most important thing. We're doing our best, but you can help too.
- Try to reduce the amount of waste you produce
- Compost green waste at home, and use your kerbside collections fully to dispose of recyclables where you can
- Bulkier items - can you legally dispose of them in other ways? Advertise them on Freecycle or other online marketplace websites. Most District Councils can now arrange for collection of bulkier items.
- If you have DIY waste to dispose of, consider hiring a skip
- After you've exhausted all other legal alternatives, and you can’t store your household waste safely at home until later, the Household Waste Recycling Centres can take it but there are restrictions in place and social distancing is being enforced.
They are very busy though, and only cars are currently allowed in, to keep unloading times down.
Our appeal again: If you see vehicles queuing back along the road, please don't add to it. Just come back later. It’s for your own safety as well as everyone else’s on the road.
 Road maintenance programme impacted
We've had our funding confirmed from the Department for Transport for our highways maintenance budget.
But our councillors this week have been talking about the lockdown and after-effects that are likely to impact on the delivery of road improvement schemes this year.
Many contractors, suppliers, quarries and material manufacturers temporarily closed at lockdown, and most highways work since has been limited to essential safety work only.
Some schemes from last financial year have had to be deferred to this year, and that will have a knock-on effect.
We will be investing millions in resurfacing, patching, and fixing potholes; upgrades to pavements; maintaining bridges, and more.
We've also allocated millions to convert the remaining 45,000 streetlights over to LEDs over the next three years, to reduce carbon emissions.
 Can you call me back please?
We're in this weird stage at the moment, sort of in between staying at home all the time and being allowed out.
Young people are feeling it too, and some might be struggling to make sense of it.
Our youth service, which is run by Space, is continuing to do a lot of work with young people. They’re keeping in contact online, but they can’t be on it all the time. So they’ve started operating a call back service. You let us know you'd like a call back from one of our professional youth workers, and we'll give you a bell back. It’s that simple.
So if you feel that you’d like someone to chat to, or you’re just after some advice, our youth workers can always be around to check in with. They’ve always got something sensible to say and are happy to give advice and support, or let you know who else can help.
 Access the Connect Me back catalogue
We try to cover a range of news, guidance and advice in our Connect Me coronavirus (COVID-19) updates, featuring our own information as well as that of our local partner agencies and national government.
We're keeping the back issues, so that you can refer to them. So if you've read something previously in one of our bulletins and can't find the email, you can have a look in the archive.
If you run a community website or Facebook group, please feel free to post the link to the archive and encourage your readers to sign up to receive regular updates direct to their inbox.
 And finally...
We continue to #clapforourcarers and show our support to all the truly amazing care workers and key workers 👏 Thank you to everyone who has taken part so far. Keep clapping and show your support to the heroes working for communities in Devon. Thanks goes to @geiko_mimi for capturing this beautiful double rainbow in Exeter 🌈 #WeAreDevon 💚
By pulling together with our partners and our communities, we are doing everything we can to help us all through this incredibly difficult time. Thank you to you and your community and stay safe and well.
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