|
Wednesday 15 July 2020
 The last two weeks have illustrated perfectly where we are with regard to the coronavirus pandemic.
On one hand, the relaxation of lockdown has continued, providing a much-needed boost to the local economy and social life across the borough. On the other hand, the lockdown in Leicester fostered speculation and anxiety as to where might be next – including in Havering.
The number of new cases identified from all testing routes is now available at borough level. The Council is publishing a weekly report including this information on its website.
The current report shows that for the last seven weeks, on average, one or two residents have tested positive for coronavirus each day. The number has not increased as lockdown has progressed but neither has coronavirus gone away. So, a second wave of infection is not imminent but it remains a possibility.
We all have a role to play to control coronavirus in the coming months:
- Do maintain social distancing – two metres wherever possible – one metre plus additional measures where it isn’t
- Remember good hand and respiratory hygiene
- If you or someone you live with develops symptoms that might be COVID-19 isolate immediately and request a test
- If you test positive, share details of recent close contacts with NHS Test and Trace to minimise the risk that others will inadvertently spread the infection further
- Be prepared to isolate if you are told to do so by NHS Test and Trace.
Wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets in England will be mandatory for everyone other than children and those with a health exemption from 24 July. It already is on public transport and at NHS facilities.
As a minimum, wear a mask wherever you are required to do so, and remember you can wear a face covering whenever it makes you feel more comfortable to do so e.g. in any crowded, enclosed space.
Together we can keep Havering safe.
Mark Ansell
Director of Public Health, Havering Council
Havering's libraries, which were closed on 23 March as part of the national lockdown, will begin to reopen from Friday 17 July as the borough's coronavirus recovery plan continues.
The service will re-open as a full ‘browse and borrow’ service starting with Harold Hill, Upminster, Hornchurch, Rainham, and Romford's Central Library on 17 July with the other five libraries in the borough opening on Wednesday 22 July.
Libraries will have revised opening hours as some library staff will not be able to return to work due to health conditions or caring responsibilities.
|
Havering’s historic Romford Market will open on Sundays for the first time in recent memory, with new stalls and a wider variety for shoppers, starting from this Sunday, 19 July.
Havering Council’s decision to trial Sunday opening follows the successful reopening for Romford Market from the coronavirus lockdown, which saw shoppers return to the market with special safety and social distancing measures in place.
The Market, which has been a staple for Romford shoppers in some form for centuries, already opens to the public on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
It sells wide a range of goods from clothing, to toys, to fruit and vegetables and home furnishings. It also offers a great selection of street cuisine.
|
Havering Council now publishes a weekly report on coronavirus in Havering on its website.
It includes information on the number of Havering residents testing positive for COVID-19 each week, starting from 6 March 2020.
It also compares the number of new cases in Havering with neighbouring boroughs and the regional and national figures, and provides a link to the daily figures produced by the UK Government.
|
If you’re parking in Havering, use RingGo, the parking app with millions of users nationwide.
You can use your phone to pay for parking with RingGo across Havering. It’s quick, secure and you don’t have to hunt around for loose change to feed a parking machine.
You can use it when parking in pay and display bays, and, if you use it when parking in one of Havering Council's car parks you get a 20 per cent discount on the parking fee.
You can download the free RingGo parking app from the Apple Appstore or Google Play Store.
|
NHS Test and Trace tracks down close recent contacts of anyone who tests positive for coronavirus and, if necessary, notifies them that they must self-isolate at home to help stop the spread of infection
NHS Test and Trace’s team of tracers will contact all individuals with a positive test result asking them to share information on their close contacts in the 48 hours before symptoms started until seven days after symptoms started.
Test and Trace then anonymously alerts contacts identified advising them to self-isolate for 14 days to help stop the spread of the virus.
If you have any symptoms of coronavirus (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste) you must self isolate and book a COVID-19 test. A mobile testing unit is at the Town Hall, Romford, tomorrow (Thursday) and Sunday, see more information below.
You can arrange a test online or by calling 119.
If you need to get a test for someone under five years old – you should call 111.
By understanding NHS Test and Trace we can reduce the virus in Havering and prevent local lockdowns.
|
Restaurants and other establishments serving food for consumption on their premises can now sign up to a new government initiative encouraging people to safely return to dining out.
Restaurants, bars, cafes and other places which use the scheme will offer a 50 per cent reduction, up to a maximum of £10 per person, to all who dine-in every Monday to Wednesday, between 3 and 31 August 2020.
Businesses will receive a window sticker to show they are using the scheme.
Watch our video to find out more.
|
A mobile testing unit for COVID-19 will be at Havering Town Hall again this week.
The unit will be in Havering tomorrow (Thursday 16 July), and Sunday 19 July.
Before you attend the site in Romford, you will need to make an appointment.
The testing at the Town Hall rear car park is between 10.30am and 3.30pm.
Vehicles and pedestrians should enter via Park End Road, Romford RM1 4AU, where a one-way drive and walk through system will be in place. Please do not try to enter from Main Road.
|
Network Rail in Romford are recruiting.
They have a number of operative roles available in and around Romford including Barking, Leigh-on-Sea, Shenfield and Stratford.
To apply, you must be willing to work shifts including days, nights and weekends.
Havering Council are supporting Network Rail in filling their vacancies though Havering Works, an innovative employment and skills service, part-funded by the European Social Fund. It offers free support for local residents looking to get back to work or explore future career opportunities.
|
The latest Fairkytes Live Presents is a collection of fun rock and pop videos by Havering band Strings of Fire.
Throughout the coronavirus lockdown, the band assembled a song a week, playing separately from home and then compiling the tracks and videos.
Hit songs covered range from Elton John to Aerosmith to Billie Eilish. As part of the Havering Arts Festival Online, the band kindly agreed to all 12 videos being assembled into a single ‘lockdown concert’.
|
 Illustrations © Laura Ellen Anderson 2020
Havering Libraries have 400 funny and silly book prizes to give away to 4-11 year olds in their exciting Silly Squad competitions this summer.
There are four competitions to choose from and winning entries will be full of fun, laughter or silliness.
You can:
- write a short story
- make a piece of artwork
- compose a poem
- write a book review
The closing date is Saturday 5 September 2020.
|
