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Wednesday 24 March 2021 (Update #197)
 After a year of battling COVID-19, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers and voluntary organisations that have been working tirelessly, sometimes putting themselves at risk to help others.
It is safe to say that we could not have achieved as much as we have over the last year without the unwavering dedication and support from the volunteer sector.
Havering is a special borough that has more than its fair share of kind, generous, friendly people who genuinely care about the wellbeing of others, and are willing to take an active role to support our vulnerable residents.
We should all feel very proud of Havering’s response to the pandemic and of our volunteers who made such a significant difference in the lives of so many.
For example, more than a thousand Havering residents signed up to help with the vaccination programme, and they have now helped over 103,000 people in our borough receive at least one dose of the vaccine. Read more on our volunteers on our website.
Our latest weekly report on COVID-19 shows that the infection rate is broadly unchanged from last week. At New Year, more than 25 per cent of all PCR (laboratory) tests of Havering residents were positive. That positivity rate has now reduced to 2.2 per cent mirroring the fall in the rate of new cases.
Please keep doing all the things that are helping to drive that infection rate down: washing hands, maintaining social distancing, wearing face coverings and getting the vaccine when it is offered.
If you want to contact me directly, you can email me. However, please be patient as there may be a delay in getting back to you due to the volume of messages I am receiving.
Cllr Damian White
Leader, Havering Council
Yesterday marked one year since the start of the first UK lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Havering Council has produced a special commemorative booklet.
It's full of tributes, and messages of remembrance or thanks.
You can read it online.
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 Every week Havering Council publishes a report on coronavirus in the borough on its website. It includes data on infection rates and testing, as well as the vaccine roll-out, and compares the success of that programme in Havering with other parts of London and the rest of the country.
The graph above is taken from the report and shows the number of Havering residents testing positive for coronavirus each week since 6 March last year. Until 2 July the figures did not include widespread testing in the community.
There were 91 cases reported in the last week,13 less than the previous week. This equates to an incidence rate of 35 new cases per 100,000 population which is the same as the London average (35/100,000) but lower than that for the whole of England (55/100,000).
There were six COVID-19 related deaths in Havering in the week ending 12 March, one more than last week, as the graph below shows.
 As of 22 March there were 48 inpatients admitted due to COVID-19 occupying beds at our local hospitals. This is three more than last week. The trust that runs those hospitals, BHRUT, also publishes weekly data on the number of patients it is treating.
Havering Council’s Emergency Assistance Scheme, run by the charity DABD, on the Council’s behalf, has given over £500,000 in grants to local people since the pandemic began in March 2020.
Back at the beginning of the pandemic, Havering Council launched ‘Havering Helps’, a package of financial measures worth nearly £4.5m to support residents, businesses and care providers in the borough through the pandemic.
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The COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and will give you the best protection from coronavirus.
If you live in London and are aged over 50, you are a carer, or have an underlying health condition, you can book your appointment by visiting uk/covid-vaccination or by calling 119 for free between 7am-11pm, seven days a week.
Of all adults over the age of 50 in Havering, just over 87 per cent have now received their first jab.
You can book your appointment at a vaccination centre. The COVID-19 vaccination sites are run by NHS professionals and have extra measures in place to keep you safe during your visit.
Remember, it’s not too late to get the jab and protect yourself and those around you from coronavirus.
Receiving the vaccine doesn’t guarantee that you won't get COVID-19 although it has been shown to greatly reduce the chance of that happening and of serious illness or hospitalisation. That means that even after vaccination you must continue to follow government guidance, including social distancing rules.
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An online question and answer session on the COVID-19 vaccine aimed at people with a learning disability or autism, and the people that support them, will be held on Wednesday 31 March.
Using Zoom video conferencing the session will run from 4 to 5pm. It is organised by local NHS GPs.
Dr Jyoti Sood, a Clinical Lead for Learning Disabilities and Autism, and Rizwana Dudhia, Advanced Clinical Pharmacist for Learning Disabilities will be answering your questions about the vaccine.
Please ask any questions you may have by sending an email before 5pm on Monday 29 March.
Use this link to join the Zoom session on 31 March.
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 Havering Council is again supporting eligible families with school meals during the school holidays.
For the Easter holiday eligible families will receive £30 per child.
There’s no need to re-apply if you have previously received money via the School Meal Holiday Scheme. This will be paid automatically into your account. Read more on our website.
If you haven’t previously applied, but need to, please click on the button below.
Applications for new claims will open from 9am this Friday, 26 March, and will close on Tuesday 6 April at 9am.
 Rapid testing is available across Havering.
If you have to leave home for work, you should get regular, twice-weekly rapid tests to make sure you're not passing on COVID-19 without knowing.
All childminders can access asymptomatic twice-weekly testing by either:
Testing will help to identify positive cases, particularly those who may have the virus and do not have symptoms. Those who test positive will then self-isolate, helping to reduce transmission of the virus. Positive results from rapid tests undertaken at home should be confirmed with a standard PCR test.
You should still be tested even if you have had one or both doses of the COVID-19 vaccination.
Have symptoms?
Of course, it also remains vitally important to book a test if you have COVID-19 symptoms. There is information on booking procedures, and opening hours for all our local testing locations on our website.
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.
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A Full Council meeting will be held tonight (Wednesday, 24 March).
Starting at 7.30pm, the meeting will be held online with most councillors joining the meeting from their own homes. You can view it via our webcast.
Items on the agenda include Council staff employment rules and the Council's Pay Policy statement.
Councillors will have an opportunity to question the Council's leadership with topics ranging from flooding in Rainham, to dog fouling, potholes and public toilets to be covered.
The meeting will conclude with motions for debate. You can see details of the four motions listed for debate on the Council's website.
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If you haven't yet completed Census 2021, please do so as soon as possible.
Census field officers are now following up households that have not returned their questionnaire.
All genuine Census officers will carry an ID card with their photograph and name.
They will not make calls before 9am or after 8pm, and will never ask for money or bank details.
These officers will not enter homes and they will have paper questionnaires with them in case residents have lost their orginal letter with its unique access code, or don't have the ability to complete the form online.
If you have any questions, or concerns as to whether a person claiming to be from Census 2021 is genuine, please call 0800 141 2021.
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Poll cards are being sent out this week to registered voters in preparation for the elections for the London Mayor and Assembly that will be held on Thursday 6 May.
Due to COVID-19 there are a number of changes to polling stations across Havering for these elections.
Details of changes will be on your polling card and are listed on our website.
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If you're in a business that imports food or drink from the EU, you’ll need to follow new rules from 1 October 2021.
The Government is hosting a series of free webinars to explain what actions you must take to continue to import these products from the EU from 1 October 2021, and to provide guidance on how to meet the new requirements.
The next webinar in this series is on 29 March at 2pm.
The Government has delayed the implementation of various import declarations from 30 June 2021 to 31 December 2021. Find out more.
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Our local BHRUT Hospitals Trust has opened a fifth endoscopy room at Queen’s Hospital in Romford, taking the total across the Trust to seven.
An endoscopy is a procedure that sees an endoscope (a tube with a light and camera) inserted into a patient to examine and diagnose them.
Demand for endoscopies is greater than capacity, so this new room will help increase diagnostics capacity at the Trust by around 20 per cent.
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Havering Libraries are holding a series of free author events including Andy Cope doing a live Zoom event on wellbeing for adults.
Andy’s books are frequently on the best-sellers list. ‘The Art of Being Brilliant’, ‘Shine’, ‘The Little Book of Emotional Intelligence’ and ‘Zest’ have all topped the personal development charts.
‘Happiness Route Map’ was nominated as The Independent’s best self-help book of 2018. In this session he will be encouraging people to start loving life, to become their very best self, with tips on how to increase wellbeing and happiness.
You can join Andy tomorrow, Thursday 25 March, from 7 to 8pm.
If you would like to attend please book in advance by email.
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The Havering Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) is made up of local organisations including Havering Council, Health Services, the Police and a range of voluntary organisations that are involved in supporting people who have experienced abuse or neglect.
Abuse or neglect can include, physical, financial crime, or failure to act to protect someone.
By law, the SAB has to develop a strategy telling people what we are going to do to help protect and support adults who are at risk of abuse or neglect.
To do this, they want to understand what the people who live and work in Havering want done to protect the community. The SAB has asked Healthwatch Havering to carry out this survey on its behalf.
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Havering Council is organising a number of online craft activities for children over the Easter holidays.
These include rock painting (pictured), for children aged 5 years or older on Wednesday 7 April between 10am and 11am, and the making of Easter bunnies and wreaths on Friday 9 April between 10 and noon for children aged 8 years or over.
The activities are for children aged over five or eight years of age. To book a place for your child send an email.
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