9 October 2020
Public: coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for Devon on our website
Please pass this onto district, borough, parish and town councillors as appropriate. The bulletin can be shared as a link by clicking the 'View it as a Web page' link at the top.
Do it for Devon
Stick with us and keep following the guidance to keep everyone safe and well.
Devon extends a warm welcome to all visitors.
However, to keep us all safe, we need the support of local residents and visitors to keep following the guidelines with social distancing, washing hands and hand sanitising, wearing a face covering in enclosed spaces, avoiding busy places and keeping gatherings to groups of up to six people.
Dear Member
With the recent increase in COVID-19 cases across the country, including Devon, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with an update.
As you will appreciate this is a fast-moving situation. Devon has, however, been very successful so far at keeping levels of coronavirus cases low and background levels are still steady despite the recent spike in cases.
We fully recognise the contribution that local people have made in keeping these figures low and are grateful for the ongoing support from our communities.
However, it is vital we continue to reiterate the three, key public health measures in everything we do - social distancing, good hand hygiene, and wearing face coverings.
It is especially important for young people to follow these rules, particularly considering the ongoing situation at the University of Exeter.
There are spikes in cases at universities across the UK which was not unexpected, and excellent preparatory work has been done by the University of Exeter which included engagement with the local community, and the provision of their in-house testing system.
Their planning has enabled early visibility of the issue and a swift response from all parties involved. The multi-agency support for this outbreak has been excellent especially from our partners at Public Health England (PHE), Exeter City Council and D&C Police.
There is currently no evidence of widespread community transmission and everything is being kept under intense scrutiny via daily incident management meetings involving a range of partners.
The University has put in place an extensive range of measures to reduce transmission between students. Some of the many examples include:
- Instruction from 28 September to students of no mixing of households indoors
- Enhanced cleaning on campus, halls of residence and common areas
- Postponement of social events and sporting fixtures involving students
- Inclusion of hand gel dispenser into shared kitchens
- Wellbeing support
- Suspension of health and care placements for students
- Enhanced communications with the community and parent carers
You can find data on the latest cases in Devon on our dashboard.
Please can I ask you all to remain vigilant within your communities, and to encourage all your constituents to continue to do everything they can to help stop the spread of the virus by social distancing, ensuring good hand hygiene measures are followed and wearing face coverings when necessary. Advice and information can be found on our coronavirus webpages.
Thank you.
Roger
Cllr Roger Croad, Cabinet Member for Community, Public Health, Transportation and Environmental Services
Deputy Director for Public Health Devon says we’re not near lockdown yet
Steve Brown, Deputy Director for Public Health Devon described the coronavirus situation in Devon this week (ending 9 October), and in Exeter in particular.
Asked about a potential lockdown in the city, Steve said that there are measures that can be taken in addition to those that are currently in place, to try to control the spread of infection and hopefully avoid us getting towards lockdown.
Listen to what he said:
Click to view Steve Brown (on YouTube)
Chair of the Team Devon Board urges people not to be complacent
Devon County Council Leader John Hart, who chairs the Team Devon Local Outbreak Engagement Board, said as the Board met this week (on Thursday 8 October):
“We have been, rightly, focusing on the situation in Exeter and I want to speak about that.
“But firstly I want to emphasise that across the rest of Devon we have been keeping levels of coronavirus low.
“Cases are steady and that is largely as a result of the common sense of the people of this county."
Read the statement in full on the Devon Newscentre.
“What’s happening in Exeter is not unexpected and has been planned for” says Dr Virginia Pearson
Exeter has seen a recent sharp spike in cases, most of which are in the University student population. The outbreak is currently contained, and so Exeter is not in the territory for broad lockdown within the city at this time.
Check confirmed cases in your area
 Members may wish to refer to our updated Devon website data using the localised COVID-19 dashboard. The 'Power BI' dashboard loads live data across the region and you can click on your local district area to find details on:
- headlines - page 1
- confirmed cases and deaths - page 2
- confirmed cases by area - page 3
- confirmed cases: last 14 days - page 4
- deaths - page 5
- data sources - page 6.
Find the data by visiting the Coronavirus advice in Devon website and then on 'The picture in Devon' for more detailed statistics.
Urgent economic recovery plan unveiled
An urgent £6 million economic recovery programme will be discussed by Devon County Council’s Cabinet next week in response to the county’s economy shrinking by around 8%.
Just the flu? There’s no ‘just’ about it!
On average, flu kills over 11,000 people each year – some years this number is much higher – and it hospitalises many more. This is anything but a typical year due to the potential impact of flu and COVID-19 circulating at the same time. It’s now more important than ever that we act to protect ourselves, our teams, our families and those we care for from getting flu.
We provide flu vaccinations to all our frontline health and social care staff, including those working in Adult Social Care, Children’s Social Care, and Public Health Nursing, who are not already in an eligible group.
Managers are also required to identify which additional staff they would like to offer a free flu vaccination to for business continuity reasons, where staff absences would impact on delivery of the service.
Guidance is being sent to managers encouraging staff to receive the flu vaccination this year. You may have read in the media that there has been unprecedented demand for the flu vaccination this year, and for this reason, people that are in eligible groups (including over 65s, pregnant women, those with a long term condition) are currently being prioritised, and are being encouraged to book their vaccination with their GP or at a pharmacy as soon as possible.
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Face coverings must be worn on school transport
Students in Devon are being told they must wear face coverings when travelling on school transport.
Why self-isolating is vital to stop the spread of coronavirus
According to news reports, a study led by King’s College London shows that fewer than one-fifth of people in the UK who develop coronavirus symptoms are following the rules and self-isolating at home.
Proud to Care Devon represents all health and care organisations across the Devon Integrated Care System. Proud to Care Devon aims to attract people with the right values to a career in health and care and to develop and retain people in the sector. Download the handy Proud to Care overview.
Click to find out more about the Proud to Care Jobs Fair
Members - please help promote Proud to Care
We are keen for all Members to help promote Proud to Care and to attract people in your local communities into the personal care market. You can do this in three simple ways:
- Encourage jobseekers in your constituency to apply for jobs in care and health advertised on www.proudtocaredevon.org.uk and also to find out more about careers and education opportunities in the sector. We’re currently advertising 427 jobs in 157 care and health organisations in Devon.
- Let the Proud to Care team know (Email proudtocare@devon.gov.uk) if you hear about local redundancies first hand, as they can offer 1-2-1 support for people interested in finding out more about moving into care and health careers, by working with our Economy team and Department of Work and Pensions, as part of Devon’s Economic Recovery Plan. Jobseekers can register their interest on the Proud to Care homepage to access 1-2-1 support. They can also signpost people to help with their CVs, application forms and interview skills (with Learn Devon and other partners) and link them to information sessions with adult social care providers and Sector Work Academy Programmes with a guaranteed interview at the end of the short programme.
- Share, re-tweet and like Proud to Care posts on social media: Like Proud to Care Devon on Facebook. Follow Proud to Care on Twitter
Communication matters – how speech and language support improves children’s lives
If a child doesn’t develop the skills needed to interact with others, it can put them at greater risk of depression and affect their education, employability, social mobility and happiness. The life prospects of many of Devon’s most vulnerable children are looking up thanks to public services joining forces to deliver improved speech and language support.
Made in Devon will set your local business apart
The new Made in Devon scheme is being launched just as trust in locally made products is at an all time high, with more people than ever choosing to ‘shop local’.
DCC’s Cleo wins ‘apprentice of the year’ award
A civil engineer on Devon County Council’s (DCC) apprenticeship scheme has been recognised for her hard work and honoured with the Construction -Technical & Professional Apprentice of the Year award.
Cleo Gatting, 21, was named the apprentice of the year at the Virtual Exeter College Apprentice & Employer awards 2020.
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Quit smoking and breathe easier this Stoptober
Smokers in Devon are being encouraged to quit and breathe easier this winter as part of the national ‘Stoptober’ campaign.
World Mental Health Day is Saturday 10 October
It's World Mental Health Day this Saturday (10 October), which is a perfect time to encourage conversation and openness about the issue.
This year understandably it feels more poignant, as people of all ages live with impact of the coronavirus pandemic, whether that's feelings of isolation or loneliness, depression, anxiety - COVID-19 has left a trail.
This year there are many different ways to encourage conversation about mental health.
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The Mental Health Foundation Tea & Talk campaign, for one. Talking is good for your mental health, and Tea & Talk is a great way to come together during coronavirus and have a virtual cup of tea with friends, family or colleagues.
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Public Health England (PHE) has also created some 'What to do about worry' resource to help teachers support Year 6 pupils.
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Transitioning from primary to secondary school may have been more challenging than usual for young people this year, so PHE has created a 'transition to secondary school' resource, for Year 7 pupils who may still be finding it hard to adapt to a new school environment.
Sons & Daughters Month (fostering)
October is Sons and Daughters Month, a national campaign by the Fostering Network to celebrate the vital contribution that the children of foster carers make to foster care. Those growing up in a fostering household have to share their parents, their toys and their friends, as well as sometimes cope with challenges other children do not face. However, it is very clear from those we have spoken to that they wouldn’t change things for the world.
Throughout the month, Fostering Devon is sharing stories and quotes from the sons and daughters of Devon foster carers.
Please call Fostering Devon on 0345 155 1077 to discuss any questions you may have, or visit www.fosteringindevon.org.uk and download a brochure.
National Adoption Week 2020 (12–18 October)
By pulling together across the Council, 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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