Devon ranks among the lowest for COVID-19 cases, our heath visitors lead the way nationally and support as shielding pauses

The innovative way our health visitors have adapted to ensure that new parents in Devon continue to receive the support they need during the coronavirus pandemic has been recognised nationally. 

With life severely restricted by the lockdown, and much of the face-to-face parts of our health visiting service suddenly impossible, they were quick to respond by making excellent use of digital technology to offer support virtually.

Parents were able to attend new birth video appointments, online specialist support groups for things like infant feeding and sleep clinics and access free videos our health visitors created on subjects such as starting solids, understanding your baby, play, transition to school and toilet training.

The new way of working is also proving vital for more vulnerable families. 

Victoria Howard Devon Public Health Nursing Professional lead, explains:

"Usually if a new mother is struggling it would have been picked up by a number of community services, and that mother would often also have a support from their peer or family networks.

"Lockdown changed that. For a vulnerable mother, out of touch with family and friends, this presented a real risk and we had to adapt quickly.

"We have been able to develop a personalised face-to-face service, which helps us to pick up signs that a new mother or family is struggling, and they need help."

You can read the full story on our Newscentre. 

From this Saturday (1 August), the government's shielding programme will pause, unless the transmission of COVID-19 in the community starts to rise significantly. This means the support from the National Shielding Service, including free food parcels, medicine deliveries and care, will stop. Supermarket priority delivery slots will remain.

For the rest of us, easing the strictest lockdown has been a gradual process, and most people will now be relatively used to our new normality of social distancing and face coverings. But many residents who have been shielding, and haven't really left their homes since March, will probably be feeling a little uneasy about the end of this period.  

Venturing back out and being around other people, for example at the shops, with face coverings and one-way systems, is a daunting prospect and the transition could be as difficult as the sudden lockdown was in March. And just as it took a while to adjust back then, it will take a while to adjust now as shielding lifts.  

Take it at your own pace, share any concerns or anxieties with those closest to you and remember that the friends and neighbours that have helped you over the last few months are still your friends and neighbours even after the shielding ends and they are still there for you.

Since March, communities have rallied round, with volunteers helping those who have most needed help. Many of those charities, local groups and volunteers, are still there and still able to help. You can find a map of them on our website.

NHS Volunteer Responders will carry on delivering the groceries you buy and prescriptions if you need it.  You can call them on 0808 196 3646 (8am to 8pm). 

There is also support available to help people who are feeling anxious about leaving the house.  

So, for those who have been shielding and are worried about venturing-forth from this weekend, please know that you are not alone and support is available. And for the rest of us now going about our slightly less restricted lives, please continue to look out for those we know who have been shielding - they may need your continued reassurance as they become as independent again as possible.

Construction work to build the Northern Devon Enterprise Centre near Barnstaple is continuing apace. 

The building work is on target to be completed by the end of this year, and it will provide accommodation for dynamic, high growth and start-up businesses. 

"The Enterprise Centre is one of many projects that will be playing an important part in ensuring that our local economy emerges stronger from the coronavirus pandemic," said Cllr Rufus Gilbert, responsible for Economy and Skills. 

"Young people are going to find it toughest to get on the job market post COVID-19," says Cllr Frank Biederman, "so giving them the opportunity to be entrepreneurs and having the wrap around support is going to be a fantastic opportunity." 

More evidence suggests that being obese or excessively overweight puts people at greater risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19. 

That doesn't mean people with excess weight are more likely to catch coronavirus, but if they do, they're more likely to become seriously ill from it than someone with a healthy body mass index. 

So, the government has launched a new campaign targeting groups most affected by obesity, encouraging people to introduce changes that will help them work towards a healthier weight. 

It includes a range of free tools and apps that everyone can use, to support people to eat better, drink less alcohol, and be more active.  

It also includes a new app for the free 12-week NHS Weight Loss Plan.  

Visit the NHS Better Health website for free tools and support to start leading a healthier lifestyle. 

Here in Devon, there is help for everyone who wants to improve their health.   

One Small Step Devon is a free service that gives support to people wanting to make lifestyle changes and improve their health. Their fully qualified Health Coaches will work with you to explore how important it is to you to make these changes. You will then agree an action plan and set some goals. The coaches can help people wanting to lose weight, stop smoking, reduce their alcohol consumption, and generally to be more active.

This support is available to anyone living in the Devon County Council area. 

There have been reports that face masks for babies, also known as 'baby masks' or 'cute masks', are being sold in some parts of the country and online. 

Parents and guardians of babies under three years old are advised by Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards not to cover their mouths with facemasks as it could cause breathing difficulties. 

While there have been no reports of ‘baby masks’ being sold in Devon, parents and guardians are urged not to buy them.  

Currently government guidance says that children under 11 do not need to wear face masks. 

Public Health England has issued a warning that children under 3 years old should NOT wear face coverings or masks as they are potentially dangerous and can cause choking and suffocation. 

Dr Virginia Pearson, Director of Public Health Devon, said:

“I would strongly advise parents and carers against using any sort of covering over a baby’s mouth. There's no scientific advice that they need to wear one and it could be dangerous in the event of a baby vomiting or posseting.”

With national guidance being updated regularly, it's easy perhaps to forget what the latest advice is. So, with hotter weather forecast for the weekend, here’s a reminder of who, where and how many people you can meet with, including going around to friends for a BBQ or meeting for a picnic somewhere. 

Following social distancing and hygiene guidelines: 

• Maximum groups of 6 people from different households outdoors - so you (as an individual) can meet up to 5 other people from different households in any outdoor space.
• Any number of people, but from only two households indoors or outdoors - your household can all meet with one other household in any location, public or private, indoors or outdoors. It doesn't have to be the same household every time.
• Overnight stays only with one other household - you (and your household) can stay overnight away from your home, but only with members of one other household. It doesn't have to be the same household every time.
• Support bubbles - if you're an adult living on your own or as a single parent, you can form an exclusive 'support bubble' with one other household. You effectively become 'one household' so can act as if you live together and don't have to socially distance. Once you've formed your support bubble, you can't change who is in it.

Restaurants, bars, cafes and other eateries that are participating in a government promotion, will be offering discounts on food and drinks from Monday (3 August). 

On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout August, those eateries that have registered will offer a 50 per cent reduction, to a maximum of £10 per person to all diners who eat and/or drink-in. 

Customers do not need a voucher. A 'Find now' search is available online to help customers find participating eateries near them. 

(Correction: In our story about this campaign on 17 July, we mistakenly used the word 'minimum' instead of 'maximum' in relation to the amount of discount available.  Thank you to one of our readers for pointing it out!)

Six new projects to improve our understanding of the links between COVID-19 and ethnicity have been funded by UK Research and Innovations, Medical Research Council and the national Institute for Health Research. 

The projects seek to explain and mitigate the disproportionate death rate from COVID-19 among people from minority ethnic backgrounds, including health and social care workers. 

Healthcare workers from ethnic minorities have been significantly over-represented amongst the deaths from the virus. 

They will explore the impact of the virus specifically on migrant and refugee groups, working with ethnic minority communities to create targeted health messages. And they will introduce a new framework to ensure the representation of people from ethnic minority backgrounds in clinical trials testing new treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.