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6 April 2021
Don’t forget to keep testing your family during the Easter school holidays
The Government has announced that from Friday 9 April, twice weekly rapid tests will be available to everyone as we get ready to enter the next step on the roadmap. We’ll provide you with more details in our next edition. In the meantime, if you’re a parent or a guardian, don’t forget to continue getting your family tested this week during the Easter school holidays.
You can collect a FREE pack of Rapid Tests if you’re a parent/guardian or in a childcare/support bubble with nursery school, primary school, secondary school and college aged children. To choose your nearest collection site click here. Alternatively, you can pick up a FREE pack of Rapid Tests from one of our Community Mass Testing sites at Hounslow House, Isleworth Library, Heston Library or Staines Rugby Club in Feltham.
No need to book. You must be over 18 years old and NOT have COVID-19 symptoms to collect your FREE pack.
Other ways to get your family tested:
- You can access Rapid Tests via your employer if they are offering testing to employees
- If you cannot get tested at your workplace or are unable to go to a collection site, you can order a home test kit online: Order rapid lateral flow home test kits
- We also have Mobile Testing Units. For locations and opening hours, please keep an eye on our Twitter page.
You should report every result to NHS Test and Trace on the same day you take the test. Report your test result online or by calling 119.
Rapid testing is available for those who do not have COVID-19 symptoms. If you think you have COVID-19 symptoms book a test online via the NHS website or call 119
Spring has sprung, and there are many festivities taking place over the next few weeks, including Vaisakhi, Eid, and many others.
We would like to remind you that the rule of 6 applies to all socialising - this means you can meet in a group of up to six people or two households outdoors (indoor socialising is still not allowed).
We must continue to work together, observe the rules, and follow Hands Face Space in order to prevent more infections which would reduce our chances of going back to our normal lives this summer.
NHS Test and Trace and London Borough of Hounslow have launched a new pilot scheme to help reach residents who have tested positive for coronavirus quickly.
Known as ‘Local-0’, this new joint initiative will help us to contact positive cases faster by bringing them in right from the start of the tracing journey, at the same time the case is entered into the national NHS Test and Trace system.
This means we will now contact you directly rather than through the national service and we will help guide you to self-isolate. We can also provide legal instructions and support to people who have tested positive as well as for household members who have to self-isolate.
The NHS Test and Trace programme will continue to trace the contacts of individuals who have tested positive, and will continue to provide support to local authorities throughout the process, in order to help stop the spread of the virus as effectively as possible.
This step means we can help you quickly and more directly and make sure we come out of lockdown as safely as possible.
If you are aged 50 or over, are clinically vulnerable, a frontline worker or a carer, you can now book your COVID-19 vaccination through the NHS website even if you haven’t yet received a letter. Appointments are available at sites across the Borough and also Ealing, Wembley and Hammersmith.
You must book your appointment before you go to a vaccination centre. We are aware of other scam messages circulating – please ignore them. The NHS will never ask you for money or your bank details for your vaccination – it is free.
You can book an appointment now if:
- you are aged 50 or over
- you are at high risk from coronavirus (clinically extremely vulnerable)
- you are an eligible frontline health or social care worker
- you have a condition that puts you at higher risk (clinically vulnerable)
- you have a learning disability
- you are a main carer for someone at high risk from coronavirus
You can book appointments at a larger vaccination centres or a pharmacy that provides COVID-19 vaccinations.
Please make sure you plan your journey responsibly to allow for as much social distancing as possible.
Find more information about how to get to all vaccination centres around the Borough here
You will be eligible for your second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination from 10-12 weeks after your first dose. You will need to go back to the same location where you had it before, so that they make sure you receive the same type of vaccine again.
Depending on where you were first vaccinated, the ways of confirming second dose appointments differ; this is due to the logistics of operating different sites and different vaccines, compounded by vaccine delivery schedules.
- If you were invited by your GP practice (e.g. Chiswick Health Centre, Thornbury Road Health Centre, Heart of Hounslow, Feltham Assembly Hall), wait to be contacted by your GP.
- If you were invited for vaccination at a hospital site, e.g. West Middlesex University Hospital, then you will be contacted by the hospital site to book your second dose appointments
- If you went to a mass vaccination site or pharmacy site, you can book your second appointment online via the National Booking Service www.nhs.uk or by calling 119 if you do not already have one.
What happens if more than 12 weeks passes before I have my second vaccine?
If for any reason you miss having your second vaccine 12 weeks after your first, please contact your GP or book-in through the national booking system and have it as soon as possible.
Did you know there is support available for self-isolating residents?
There are lots of instances in which you might need to self-isolate - click here to find out when you should do so.
However, if you haven't had to isolate yet, and haven't had the chance to think about what your plan might be for food security, financial support, medical assistance or any other areas of concern, we can help you.
Visit our Community Hub for more information about all the support available to you and your loved ones.
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