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Monday 22 February 2021 (Update #184)
 Today the Prime Minister laid out his roadmap for the next steps regarding plans to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
It will be a long process, but I think it is right that we move ahead cautiously.
We have to be sure that we minimise the risk of further lockdowns so it's better to tread carefully rather than relaxing restrictions too quickly and allowing a further spike in COVID-19 infections. The sacrifices you have made, the brilliant response from Havering's voluntary sector and the determination with which the vast majority of residents have followed COVID-19 rules must not have been in vain.
The Government's roadmap outlines four steps for easing restrictions. Before proceeding to each step of the plan, it will examine the data to assess the impact of previous change to the lockdown restrictions.
The critical data that they will look at each step will be:
- A successful continuation of the vaccination programme
- Evidence showing vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated
- Infection rates, to ensure they do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS
- Any risks posed by new variants of the coronavirus.
The Government told us today that these four tests are currently being met so the first step in the process of easing restrictions will begin on 8 March.
The most important part of the changes on that date will be the welcome return of all schools and the resumption of care home visits.
I know how incredibly tough it has been for many of you coping with teaching children at home while trying to also work from home, or having visits to elderly relatives in care homes banned or restricted to watching them through a window. Read more on the steps out of lockdown below.
Until 8 March, please stay safe and continue to follow the current rules so that we drive down infection rates as far as possible before we take the first careful steps towards easing the lockdown.
So keep wearing your face covering, maintain your distance from other people, and stay at home as much as you can. Working together we can look forward to better days ahead.
If you want to contact me directly, you can email me. However, please be patient as there may be a delay of a day or two in getting back to you due to the volume of messages I am receiving.
Cllr Damian White
Leader, Havering Council
Today (Monday 22 February) the Government unveiled its roadmap for the order in which current COVID-19 restrictions will be eased, provided that key data supports that move.
8 March
All schools – primary and secondary – will open. Schools will be allowed to restart outdoor sports matches and other outdoor activities.
Secondary school pupils will have to wear face coverings and will be tested twice a week at school for the first two weeks and then later at home.
Care home visits indoors will resume, including allowing a single visitor to hold hands indoors with their relative or contact in a care home.
Rules on socialising in a public space will be relaxed, meaning one person can sit down with another individual from outside their household or bubble for a coffee, drink or picnic.
Read more on the Government's website.
29 March
Outdoor gatherings will be permitted for either up to six people, or two households.
Outdoor sports facilities such as tennis or basketball courts and golf courses will be permitted to reopen.
Organised adult and children’s sport can resume.
12 April (at the earliest)
The reopening of some hospitality including serving outdoors only.
Non-essential retail plus hairdressers, salons and gyms allowed to open again and universities and colleges reopen campuses. Zoos, museums and theme parks will be permitted to open.
17 May (at the earliest)
Groups of up to six people or two households to be allowed to mix indoors.
Pubs and restaurants allowed to serve people indoors. Cinemas and hotels to be permitted to open their doors again with fans allowed back into sporting events, although subject to some limits on the size of crowds.
Travel allowed for short breaks around the UK and up to 30 people will be allowed at weddings, funerals and christenings.
International travel may be able to resume subject to a review that will be completed by 12 April.
21 June (at the earliest)
All legal limits on social contact set to be removed.
As more details are released on specific dates for changes to the rules in April and May that information will be published in future editions of this newsletter, along with updates on any changes to local services.
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If you have recently been added to the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) list you should shield at at home until 31 March.
If you receive a letter from the NHS please read it carefully, as it contains lots of useful sources of support and will give you instructions about how to register for priority shopping deliveries, support with prescriptions and help with money if you are unable to go to work. There is more information on our website.
Havering Council is here to help you if you have any emergency needs, but we are not able to make any decisions about appeals against being included on this list.
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 More than 68,000 people in Havering have now had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Take up of the vaccine has been very high in all groups offered a jab with more than 88 per cent of Havering care home residents receiving it along with 89 per cent of those aged 80 years or older, 90 per cent of those aged 75-79, and 88 per cent of those aged 70-74.
If you have any doubts about taking a COVID-19 vaccine when it is offered to you, or you know that a friend or relative has concerns, see this video.
Do not listen to wild conspiracy theories about coronavirus and vaccinations pedalled on social media, or any pamphlets that claim COVID-19 is a plot designed by Bill Gates.
Over 70 or clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV)
If you or someone in your family is 70 or over, or defined as clinically extremely vulnerable, and you have not yet had, or been booked, for your first COVID-19 vaccination, you should take action now. Contact your GP for an appointment, or book your first vaccination online at one of east London's large-scale vaccination centres (including ExCel and Westfield), or call 119 to book.
If you have received a letter but not booked an appointment you may get a phone call from the NHS Immunisation Management Service. This call will be from the number 0300 561 0240. This will be a reminder to book your COVID-19 vaccination appointments. The person you speak to will see if you need any help and support.
If you have recently been defined as CEV, the NHS will write to you explaining why you should shield until at least 31 March, whether you have had the first dose of the vaccine or not. You can read about the help available to you if you are CEV on our website.
Aged 16-64 with an underlying health condition
If you or someone in your family is aged between 16 and 64 years old and have an underlying health condition, you are now eligible for a vaccination. You must wait to be invited by the NHS for your vaccination before you can book via the national NHS booking system.
Personal Assistants
If you are a Personal Assistant working in front line social care you are eligible for vaccination in national priority group two if you are caring for someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable to COVID-19, or is a person who has a defined underlying health condition leading to greater risk of disease or death from COVID-19, or is over 85 years old.
If this could be you, read more on our website.
Avoid scams
Please remember that contact from the NHS for COVID-19 vaccination may come by phone call, letter or text but there will be no request for any form of payment as COVID-19 vaccination is free.
Havering Council wants to hear from informal carers in the borough, between the ages of 16 and 64, who may be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Informal carers are defined by the Government as those adults who are eligible for a carer’s allowance, or those who are the sole or primary carer of an elderly or disabled person who is at increased risk of COVID-19 and clinically vulnerable.
The vaccination is available to carers of those clinically vulnerable to COVID-19, including children with severe neuro-disabilities, those who are designated Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV), adults with underlying health conditions, and those who need care because of advanced age.
Other groups at higher risk, including those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill, should also be offered vaccination alongside these groups.
The Government is currently finalising guidance for how vaccinations to informal carers will be rolled out, we’ll provide an update once more is known. In the meantime you can complete our form.
If you are a carer aged 65 or over, you don’t need to contact us. You are now able to access a vaccination in your own right via the NHS website or if you are 70 years of age or over, you can still contact your GP.
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If you, or someone you know, has concerns around care, urgent issues with their health and wellbeing or lack of access to supplies, including food, please call our free to use helpline: 0800 368 5201.
It is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, and between 11am and 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays for emergencies only.
You can also email us if you, or someone you know, needs help.
See a short video recorded by a member of our hotline team.
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Havering Council is consulting on a new Housing Allocation Scheme.
The new policy contains a range of measures that will help the Council best meet the housing needs of local people.
The proposals increase the amount of time applicants must have lived within the borough, from six years to 10 years.
The consultation is open until 4 April 2021. Have your say.
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Illegal eviction is a criminal offence and Havering Council has powers to intervene in such matters if needed.
It is usually an illegal eviction if your landlord forces you to leave by threatening or harassing you, physically throws you out, stops you from getting into parts of your home, or changes the locks while you're out.
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One in three people with COVID-19 have no symptoms, and can pass it on to others without realising.
If you cannot work from home please test twice weekly at one of Havering's five lateral flow testing centres.
These centres are open from 7am to 7pm on weekdays and 10am to 7pm on weekends. Find your nearest rapid testing site.
See our short video that explains the simple process.
Have symptoms?
Of course, it also remains vitally important to book a test if you have COVID-19 symptoms. Click for details of booking procedures, and opening hours for all our local testing locations.
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Despite lung cancer being the third most common cancer in England, suspected lung cancer referrals remain lower than normal.
As of December 2020, lung cancer referrals had reached just 73 per cent of pre-COVID levels.
If you’ve had a cough for three weeks or more, and it isn’t COVID-19, it could be a warning sign of cancer.
It’s probably nothing serious, but finding cancer early makes it more treatable.
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If you are visiting Upminster Cemetery and see a lot of machinery and works going on, this is part of a cemetery extension programme that was approved in 2011. It is not connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first phase of the extension was completed in 2014 and work has now begun to complete phases two and three by Autumn 2021.
Phases two and three will provide over 4,000 additional grave spaces and will future proof Havering with burial space for around the next 20 years. Without the extension Havering would have run out of burial space around 2023.
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Havering Council believes that any loving person or couple can make wonderful foster parents.
Many people still believe that their sexuality will be a barrier for them to become foster parents, but this could not be further from the truth.
That's why Havering Council is marking LGBT+ Fostering and Adoption Week 2021, which is organised by New Family Social the UK network for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) adoptive and foster families.
Whether you have been thinking of fostering, or are new to the idea, join the special LGBT+ fostering information event on Wednesday 3 March at 11am.
It will be an opportunity to find out more about fostering, ask questions, and hear first-hand what it's like to be foster parents from Marc and Theo.
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Mark this year’s Food Waste Action Week by joining Recycle for Your Community in a series of free food waste prevention workshops on 3,10 and 17 March at 4pm.
Join all three sessions for a chance to enter the prize draw worth £30.
Learn and share different ways to reduce food waste in your homes and take part in the fun recipe challenges.
There are a limited number of tickets available.
If you have any questions you can call 07891 815 068 or email.
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The census is less than a month away (Sunday 21 March).
By filling in your census, you will help shape Havering for the next 10 years.
Shortly, every household will receive a postcard, explaining what a census is, and in early March letters will arrive in the post inviting people to take part.
A paper copy of the census will be available if you need it.
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