Sharing these newsletters
To share this newsletter on social media sites such as Facebook, please visit our COVID-19 Community Champions website www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/covid-champions where you will find links to this update and previous ones at the bottom of the page. Just copy and paste the link.
COVID-19 Snapshot
Click here to see and print the full COVID-19 snapshot from 4 Nov.
Please remember
Anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms must isolate for 10 days from when they started feeling ill and their household should isolate for 14 days. You could be fined if you do not stay at home and self-isolate.
Read the guidance here.
The main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
To protect others, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital if you have any of these symptoms. Get a test to check if you have coronavirus and stay at home until you get your result.
Accessing GP Services
If you need to speak to your GP, if you are unwell and need care, your GP will be there for you.
Over the last few months, GPs and practice staff have worked hard to make sure you are safe when accessing appointments. This includes social distancing, extra cleaning and wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when appropriate.
Alongside traditional face to face consultations, GPs can now offer you different methods to access their care, including video and telephone conversations. Please talk to the staff in your GP practice to understand which method is best for you.
Please don’t let your illness get worse –help us help you and access the healthcare available to you when you need it.
Lockdown
We are now in a month’s lockdown until Wednesday 2nd December. There is a Government poster with more information, you can view and share it here.
See the new guidance here gov.uk/coronavirus.
Ask Public Health
Do you have a question about COVID-19?
Send us your query to covidchampions@milton-keynes.gov.uk and we’ll put the most popular questions to our new Deputy Director of Public Health in Milton Keynes Dr Oliver Mytton.
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Q: Do the stats include hospital testing?
A. Yes. The reported number of cases include the results from both hospital and community testing. Most new diagnoses come from community testing.
Q: Could the weekly stats also include the R rate in MK and the R rate in England?
A. Currently R-Rate is only calculated at National and Regional levels, it is not something we are in a position to calculate with sufficient accuracy at the local level. The R for East of England is 1.2 to 1.4, and broadly Milton Keynes is tracking the East of England.
The other important measure is the growth rate, the percentage change in cases each day. This tells us not only whether cases are increasing or not but how fast they are increasing. The growth rate for the East of England is 3% to 6%, i.e. the number of cases increases by between 3% and 6% each day.
Estimates of the R and the growth rate are published here.
Free to use COVID-19 signage
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If you work in an establishment which remains open in the lockdown you may find these materials to inform and reassure your staff and customers useful.
You can view them here www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/safety-signs.
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Meet a Champion
Our Champions are spreading the word and encouraging their friends and neighbours to join in and in particular to help those residents who do not use social media. Here is what one of our Champions (who prefers to stay anonymous) has to say:
"This role has been created because so much confusion is arising as we listen to all the news of varying COVID-19 rules in different parts of the country. It’s hard to be clear about what we should and shouldn’t be doing.
This initiative by MK Council is aimed at creating an extra communication channel through the Covid-19 Community Champions. We receive weekly updates on the status of COVID-19 cases in Milton Keynes and the current do’s and don’ts everyone here needs to follow. Their role is to communicate this information to as many people as possible.
There are a number of people who have signed up as Champions in the local area but we can all help with this, particularly where we have neighbours who are not in our local resident’s Facebook groups or may not be digitally skilled. It’s another example of 'keeping the kindness' that has been so brilliant in our neighbourhood since the initial lockdown."
Flu jab myth busting
The flu virus kills thousands every year. The flu vaccine is the best protection for you and those around you. Just get your free flu jab. Ask your pharmacist or GP if you're eligible.
We are here to bust those vaccination myths, please see useful information here.
Charity updates
Volunteer Matters drivers will continue to take passengers to vital medical appointments (including cancer treatment, face to face GP/Nurse/Clinic appointments, dental treatment) and to school, court visits, respite activities and vital family appointments during this lockdown period. Priority will be given to medical appointments for clinically vulnerable members of the community and maintaining education for children and young people. Additionally, they are able to provide volunteers to run your errands. This could be collecting your prescription, doing or collecting your shopping, dropping a sample to the GP or helping someone flee a dangerous domestic situation.
The organisation continues to recruit new volunteer drivers and mentors at this time. Volunteers are never more needed so please get in touch if you have some time to give.
The organisation welcome contact from individuals, existing community groups, voluntary and community sector organisations, business and public sector stakeholder to refer people for support and to collaborate.
Please either call 07765 291616 or email miltonkeynes@volunteeringmatters.org.uk to book your journey or errand, find out about volunteering and to collaborate.
Volunteers needed for PPE stock taking
We are looking for volunteers to help us with the large stock of personal protection equipment (PPE) that MK Council now manage and allocate to organisations.
We would appreciate help with:
- Stock taking
- Helping with the external organisations’ ordering and collection.
The role will involve lifting and carrying.
If you are able to help please contact Claire Griffin at covidchampions@milton-keynes.gov.uk and tell us about yourself and any experience you have which may be useful. Thank you.
Face masks advice guide
Face masks and coverings are becoming an increasing part of our daily lives. Click here to read everything you need to know.
NHS COVID-19 app
Protect your loved ones with the official NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app for England and Wales. It's the fastest way of knowing when you're at risk from COVID-19. The quicker you know, the quicker you can alert your loved ones, and your community.
You can find out more about the app here: covid19.nhs.uk.
Useful links
Keep up to date on the Governments latest COVID-19 updates.Milton Keynes is currently at Local Covid-19 Alert Level Medium (Tier 1): www.gov.uk/coronavirus.
Milton Keynes is currently at Local Covid-19 Alert Level Medium (Tier 1.)
Find COVID-19 Information from the NHS: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
To print and share this, please click "view it as a web page" at the top of this bulletin. This will take you to a web page with the option to print this off at the top.
To share this newsletter on social media sites such as Facebook, please visit our COVID-19 Community Champions website www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/covid-champions where you will find links to this update and previous ones at the bottom of the page. Just copy and paste the link.
Your Feedback
Have you found this email useful?
Let us know how we can improve: CovidChampions@Milton-Keynes.gov.uk
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