|
Gloucestershire's Partnership Board Bulletin
Welcome to another special edition of our Partnership Board bulletin. We hope that you, your family and friends continue to keep safe and well during this difficult and uncertain time.
The government has set out its plan to return life to as near normal as we can, for as many people as we can, as quickly and fairly as possible in order to safeguard livelihoods, but in a way that is safe and continues to protect our NHS. The government has published staying safe outside your home guidance on what the new rules will mean.
This bulletin aims to give you the key messages from the latest guidelines and how they may affect you and your family.
Have you got something to share?
We would love to hear your feedback or contributions, so if you have anything which you want to share, or have a question to ask us, email us here.
All our previous bulletins can be found on our website here. For a directory of COVID-19 related resources, visit Inclusion Gloucestershire's dedicated webpage here.
If you were emailed this bulletin by someone else, or found it on social media, and wish to receive it directly to your email inbox next time, click here to subscribe.
|
|
|
What can I do that I couldn’t do before?
From Monday 1 June in England, you can now:
- spend time outdoors, including private gardens and other outdoor spaces, in groups of up to six people from different households, following social distancing guidelines
- visit car showrooms and outdoor markets
- in line with the arrangements made by your school, send your child to school or nursery if they are in early years, reception, year 1 or year 6, if you could not before
At all times, you should continue to follow strict social distancing guidelines when you are outside your home, particularly ensuring you are two metres away from anyone outside your household.
You cannot:
- visit friends and family inside their homes*
- stay overnight away from your own home*, except for in a limited set of circumstances.
- exercise in an indoor sports court, gym or leisure centre, or go swimming in a public pool
- use an outdoor gym or playground
- gather outdoors in a group of more than six (excluding members of your own household)
*Note: There is more information on support bubbles further down in this bulletin
|
Can I meet people outdoors if I also have a carer from another household?
Yes. From 1 June you can meet in a group of up to six people, including you and any carers, as long as you practise strict social distancing. Everyone should observe the same guidelines, keeping 2 metres apart. But where you need personal care from your usual carer, this may involve being closer than 2 metres.
Can I visit a clinically vulnerable person?
The Government know that people 70 and over, those with certain underlying conditions and pregnant women are more vulnerable than others, so we have advised them to take particular care to avoid contact with others.
That means you can see them outdoors but be especially careful. You can visit a vulnerable person inside if you are providing care or assistance to them, following the advice set out here. You should not do so if you have coronavirus symptoms.
Wherever possible, you should stay at least 2 metres away from others, use a tissue when sneezing and dispose of it safely, cough into the crook of your elbow and wash your hands for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser if washing facilities are not easily available.
If someone is defined as clinically extremely vulnerable and being asked to shield, you should follow the guidance for a shielded person as this is different to those that are vulnerable.
Do people need to wear face coverings?
Face coverings are not compulsory (except on public transport, see below). However, if you can, people are advised to wear face coverings in enclosed public spaces where social distancing is not possible (such as shops) or where you are more likely to come into contact with people you do not normally meet.
Face coverings can help us protect each other and reduce the spread of the disease if you are suffering from coronavirus, but not showing symptoms. You should be prepared to remove your face covering if asked to do so by police officers and staff for the purposes of identification.
A face covering is not the same as the surgical masks or respirators used as part of personal protective equipment by healthcare and other workers; these should continue to be reserved for those who need them to protect against risks in their workplace such as health and care workers and those in industrial settings like those exposed to dust hazards.
Will a face covering stop me getting COVID-19?
The evidence suggests there may be some benefits in wearing a mask. Click here for more information on how to wear and make a cloth face covering.
In the last two weeks the government has begun to lift restrictions on rail travel. While you’re encouraged to limit travel and avoid public transport where possible, essential travel by train is now allowed. As our rail networks begin to reopen, Leonard Cheshire are conducting research for the Get On Board campaign. The new research will reveal the costs of inaccessible travel, reinforcing the importance of #TrainsForAll.
As part of this research, they want to interview disabled passengers to learn more about their experiences with rail travel - from booking tickets to arriving at a destination. The interviews will be conducted remotely over the summer and they would love to have you on board. Send an email to get involved!
|
|
Face covering on public transport |
|
From 15 June, wearing face coverings will be compulsory on public transport in England. Coverings must be worn on buses, trams, trains, coaches, aircraft and ferries. Very young children, disabled people and those with breathing difficulties would however be exempt.
The move is designed to prevent an increase in coronavirus infections as the country continues to relax lockdown measures and more people begin to use public transport.
Travellers are encouraged to wear the kind of face covering that could be made at home. They should cover the mouth and nose while allowing you to breathe comfortably and can be as simple as a scarf or bandanna tied snugly behind the head.
|
|
|
On 10th June, the Government produced guidelines on support bubbles, aimed at supporting single adult households. You can read the full prime minister statement, here.
Making a support bubble with another household
In England, from 13 June if you live by yourself or are a single parent with dependent children, you can expand your support network so that it includes one other household of any size.
This is called making a ‘support bubble’ and means you are able to meet indoors or outdoors, be less than 2 metres apart and stay overnight as you could if they were members of your own household. Once you are in a support bubble, you can think of yourself as in a single household.
|
There are key principles for how you can form a support bubble safely. These are critical to keeping you – and your friends and family – safe and saving lives:
- support bubbles should be exclusive – you should not change who is in your bubble or have close contact with anyone else you do not live with.
- if you or someone in your support bubble is showing coronavirus symptoms, or otherwise self-isolating, everyone in your support bubble should stay home. If you or a member of your support bubble is contacted as part of the test and trace programme, the individual contacted must stay at home.
It is not yet possible for those who are not in a support bubble to start meeting inside other people’s homes – that remains against the law unless covered by any other limited circumstances as set out in the law. This is critical to helping us control the virus and keep people safe.
|
So how do bubbles work?
Forming a support bubble with one other household means you can:
- meet indoors or outdoors
- be closer than 2 metres from each other and
- stay overnight as if you lived with that household.
This means you are able to have closer contact with those in your support bubble, which should help provide additional support to those who need it. You should continue to follow social distancing guidelines in full with other households.
You must not gather indoors or stay overnight with anyone outside of this bubble and you should not change your bubble.
What if I am clinically extremely vulnerable (shielding) or at higher risk of catching coronavirus?
Unfortunately, we cannot advise anyone who is shielding to form a household bubble at this stage. However, we know how hard it is for people who are shielding and have been keeping this advice under close review. We will be setting out further advice for this specific group next week, now that the peak of the pandemic is past.
Those who are shielding are still advised to maintain strict social distancing and stay 2 metres apart from others – including those they live with.
If you are at a higher risk of exposure to those with coronavirus (for example, if someone in your house is a healthcare or care worker that interacts with patients that have coronavirus), you should take particular care when deciding whether to form a support bubble and who with.
There is no limit on how far you can travel in England to meet members of your support bubble but we recommend that you form a support bubble with someone who lives locally wherever possible. This will help to prevent the virus spreading from an area where there might be a higher rate of infection.
You cannot form a bubble with someone who lives in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
What if I share custody of my child with someone I do not live with?
Children with separated parents are already permitted to move between both households and there is no change to that. From 13 June, it will also be permitted for those households – if there is only a single adult in them – to form a support bubble with another household.
However, it is very important that if someone in any of these linked households shows coronavirus symptoms, or is otherwise self-isolating, you should all stay at home. This is critical to controlling the virus, by avoiding a chain of transmission.
From 13 June, if you are a lone parent you can form a support bubble with another household to provide informal (i.e. unpaid) childcare for them or for them to provide informal childcare for you. You should not form a support bubble with more than one household.
Lone adults with children over 18
If you live with children over the age of 18, you will not be able to form a support bubble. We are making this change to support those who might be feeling lonely or isolated. It is a targeted intervention to provide extra support to some of those most impacted by the current social restrictions
|
|
|
|
|