Coronavirus (Covid-19) update - 14 May 2021
Please find below our latest Coronavirus (Covid-19) update for East Devon residents and businesses with information we hope will be of interest to you.
In this issue...
- An update on the further easing of Covid restrictions from Monday
- East Devon to get new National Nature Reserve
- National Mental Awareness Week
- Nature left to flourish in East Devon Green Spaces
Further easing of COVID restrictions confirmed for 17 May
 How the rules will change from Monday
Some of the rules on what you can and cannot do will change on 17 May. However, many restrictions remain in place.
From 17 May:
You should continue to work from home if you can. When travelling within the UK, you should aim to do so safely and plan your journey in advance.
You should get a test and follow the stay at home guidance if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
Up to 6 people or 2 households will be able to meet indoors and up to 30 people outdoors.
Some larger events will be able to take place, including conferences, theatre and concert performances, and sports events. Restrictions on the number of attendees will remain as set out in the Roadmap.
 We also will see the welcome opening of cinemas, soft play, indoor exercise classes, hotels, guest houses and dining indoors from Monday.
Please continue to #staylocalshopsafe to support your local firms, protect local jobs and support the local economy.
LED are delighted to inform our customers and the wider community that indoor group exercise classes and indoor sports are returning to our leisure centres and swimming pools on Monday 17 May.
Indoor Group Exercise Classes
Group exercise classes play an important part in how we support the physical health and mental wellbeing of our members and the wider community. We cannot wait to welcome back the many LED members who have eagerly awaited the return of popular indoor group exercise classes such as Pilates, Body Pump and Studio Cycling.
For more information, please visit the LED website.
To celebrate the return of group exercise at Exmouth Leisure Centre and Honiton Leisure Centre we will be giving away prizes to members attending on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23 May. Don't forget to like the Exmouth Leisure Centre Facebook Page and the Honiton Leisure Centre Facebook page.
Indoor Sport
We look forward to welcoming back our regular indoor sports bookings. If you previously had an indoor sports booking please contact your local centre to discuss the current availability. Once your booking has been agreed, customers will be asked to complete the facilities hire online form prior to confirmation.
Indoor Tennis
We are delighted to restart our full adult tennis programme, including all courses, from Monday 17 May. Normal opening hours resume, we look forward to seeing you all back on court!
We are especially excited to announce:
- The café is reopening! Grab a post-match coffee or meal to refuel and rehydrate.
- Triples pay and play is back 18:30 – 19:30 Friday. Call reception to secure your place.
- Whizz Kids will is also returning on the same days and times as before.
East Devon to get new National Nature Reserve
The East Devon Pebblebed Heaths Photo: Jake Newman, Rekord Media
East Devon Pebblebed Heaths will stretch between Woodbury towards Budleigh Salterton and will be the latest site in the county to join the UK’s list of nationally and internationally important landscapes.
Natural England, in collaboration with Clinton Devon Estates, made an announcement about the new National Nature Reserve (NNR) this week.
The management partners are the Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust, Devon Wildlife Trust and the RSPB.
Mental Health Awareness Week
 It's Mental Health Awareness Week and a great time to think about how we're feeling. The national lockdown has been difficult for many of us and now that restrictions are easing there may be new challenges to consider. So for Mental Health Awareness Week we have a new article on the COVID-19 hub that gives you tips on how to cope with anxiety about coming out of lockdown.
Here are a number of articles you may find useful:
The gradual easing of the coronavirus restrictions mean we can get back to the people and things we love, but even positive change can cause us to feel worried and it can take time to readjust to the things we have not done for a while.
Feelings of post-lockdown anxiety are likely to pass with time as we get used to the 'new normal' but it's important to do what we can to take care of our mental health. There are lots of things that can help you to manage these feelings and make it easier to adjust.
The NHS Every Mind Matters website has lots of expert advice and practical tips to help you look after your mental health and wellbeing.
 A number of small green spaces across East Devon will remain uncut and left to flourish, allowing nature to thrive.
Information sign boards will soon be put up in the selected areas where vegetation and grass will be left to grow wild.
Allocating these green spaces for nature will have a number of benefits, including:
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Providing habitat for insects and wildlife
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Reducing CO2 emissions by not using mowers
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Promoting sustainable landscapes
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Encouraging native wildflowers (allowing vegetation to flower can provide up to 10x more nectar for bees and other pollinators!)
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Improving biodiversity
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks.
Many people with early symptoms of Lyme disease develop a circular red skin rash around a tick bite.
The rash can appear up to three months after being bitten by a tick and usually lasts for several weeks.
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Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Week is a joint campaign from NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK.
It aims to raise awareness of Type 2 diabetes, at-risk groups and how to prevent it, and encourages patients to check their risk via the Diabetes UK Know Your Risk tool.
If your score comes back as ‘at risk’, sign up to your free local Healthier You programme via self-referral.
Or, if you think you or a family member may be at risk, ask at your GP practice about your free local Healthier You programme.
Healthcare professionals, patients and organisations are being invited to share their healthier hacks for reducing their risk on social media using #HealthierHack.
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 You can access your COVID-19 vaccination status through the free NHS App from 17 May.
The NHS app is different to the NHS Covid-19 app and has to be downloaded separately.
You can access the app through mobile devices such as a smartphone or by tablet. Proof of your COVID-19 vaccination status will be shown within the NHS App. It is recommended that you register with the app before booking international travel.
If you do not have access to a smartphone and know that the country you are travelling to requires COVID-19 vaccination status, you can call the NHS helpline on 119 (from 17 May) and ask for a letter to be posted to you. This must be at least 5 days after you’ve completed your course of the vaccine.
Please do not contact your GP surgery about your COVID-19 vaccination status. GPs cannot provide letters showing your COVID-19 vaccination status.
From next Monday, the Stay in the UK restriction will be lifted and people will be able to travel to green list countries, but only if those countries permit inbound travel.
Strict border control measures will remain in place, including pre-departure tests and a PCR test on or before day two of their arrival back in the UK.
Countries have been divided into three categories - green, amber and red.
The list will be reviewed every three weeks. Countries can be added or removed at short notice, to find out more information
 Discretionary Restart Grants
Businesses which were not able to access Government’s Restart Grants will soon be able to apply for a Discretionary Restart Grant (ARG3) later this month.
This scheme is for non-rated businesses that were required to close from 1 April onwards and (rated and non-rated) businesses which have been severely impacted by national restrictions during this period.
Previous ARG applicants will be sent an access code by email to unlock this additional support.
Other eligible businesses will be able to apply from scratch using an online application form.
Check for updates as they happen.
If you want to stay up to date with the latest news about grants for East Devon businesses, or other news about business opportunities, funding and training, you must subscribe to East Devon Business news
On Thursday 6 May, residents in East Devon voted for a Police and Crime Commissioner and in the Devon County Council and a number of by-elections for the district council and in some towns and parishes, after having been postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
As well as this residents also voted in three Neighbourhood Plan referendums.
Councillor Richard Lawrence was elected as the new member for Whimple and Rockbeare ward at East Devon District Council.
For all other election results:
Our recycling/refuse crews have encountered vehicle access problems in some roads due to parked cars, with more and more people now staying home.
Please be mindful of this when parking on a collection day, so we can keep this essential service operating during this difficult time.
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 Thelma Hulbert Gallery reopens on 20 May
Photo credit: Soft Drinks Bottles Grid x 15, Môr Plastig, Pembrokeshire, Wales 2012 © Mike Perry
Major solo exhibition of the work of artist Mike Perry spearheading East Devon’s new climate campaign - Climate Conversations. Perry collects and photographs plastic objects, such as bottles, washed up on our beaches focussing our attention on the growing environmental crisis and plastic pollution. Multi-site exhibition across Honiton and Exmouth.
20 May – 14 August 2021
- Thelma Hulbert Gallery
- Thursday - Saturday, 10am-5pm
8 June – 14 August 2021
- Ocean, Queen’s Drive, Exmouth
- Monday - Sunday, 10am-5pm
 Spring photo competition: Your photo could feature in Wild East Devon’s 2022 calendar
 East Devon District Council has launched a photo competition to find the best spring photographs of 2021.
It could be photos of landscapes, wild flowers or wildlife you have spotted this spring. Simply submit your entry by email to wild@eastdevon.gov.uk or tag your image on social media with @eastdevon and #springeastdevon before the closing date on 31st May.
The top twelve winning entries will feature in the 2022 Wild East Devon calendar. The overall winner will receive a voucher for two places on one of our bespoke events this summer such as a VIP guided tour of Seaton Wetlands or on one of our ten nature reserves. Runners up will receive a selection of folding wildlife guides.
To keep in touch with the Wild East Devon Team follow them on Facebook and Twitter
 Trusted sources of advice and information
Please make sure that you only follow advice from trusted, official sources:
Next edition
We plan to send out our next bulletin on Friday 28 May 2021.
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