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17 April 2020
 Plymouth has been doing a great job so far in tackling the coronavirus by staying and home and only travelling when necessary.
The Government has confirmed that we need to continue the social distancing measures for a further three weeks to ensure we stop the virus spreading and keep our friends and family safe.
This is hard but by staying at home we will continue protect the NHS, which helps to save lives. If you do leave your home, it should only be for one of these reasons and should be for as little time as possible:
- to shop for basic essentials – only when you really need to.
- to do one form of exercise a day – such as a run, walk or cycle, alone or with other people you live with.
- for any medical need – for example, to visit a pharmacy or deliver essential supplies to a vulnerable person.
- to travel to and from work – but only where this is absolutely necessary.
Visit the Government website for the latest guidance on what we should and shouldn't do.
A ‘light bulb moment’ led to the Royal Albert Bridge across the River Tamar being lit up during the Clap for Carers this week.
Along with Cornwall and Saltash councils and the Tamar Bridge team, we wanted to light up the bridge for the event to show our appreciation for carers. It nearly didn’t happen as no lights were available but we had the idea of rigging up some high-powered street lights, which are due to be installed as part of the Eastern Corridor transport scheme.
The results were striking and the bridge was bathed in blue light while the sound of clapping echoed along the Tamar Valley.
We have paid out more than £29 million in grants to 2,440 Plymouth businesses so far to help support them through COVID-19.
We are now reaching out to the nearly 1,000 businesses who haven’t yet applied to make sure they know the grants are available.
If you have a business you can find out more about the grants and who is eligible on our Invest in Plymouth business grants page.
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You may see our Street Services teams out working to keep Plymouth moving, safe and clean.
We are continuing to empty household bins from around 30,000 properties across the city each day. You can always check which collection is due this week with our online checker.
We are also carrying out a minimum level of maintenance in our parks, greens and pitches. This is line with the Government guidance.
It is important to maintain pitches where possible to avoid them becoming so degraded they will be unusable when it is finally safe to open them again.
You may also see us carrying out weed spraying on key routes in the city over the coming weeks. This will help avoid weeds becoming so embedded that they become very difficult to eradicate in future.
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Efford Crematorium is to reopen for services from next Wednesday after being repaired following a fire on New Year’s Eve.
Services taking place at Efford Crematorium from Wednesday will be subject to the same social distancing measures that are in place across the country.
The maximum number now able to attend services is 10 people with priority given to family members, specifically: spouse/partner, parents/carers, brothers/sisters and children (and partners).
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Most Plymouth children will starting the primary school of their choice in September.
Families were notified of allocations this week and the latest figures show that 99 per cent of children were allocated one of their three preferences this year.
A total of 2,696 applications were submitted for primary school places this year and our School Admissions Team have been working hard during the coronavirus pandemic to make sure the primary admissions process was completed on time.
Parents have two weeks to respond to the offer of the school place. For those who applied for their place online, the easiest way to respond is through their online account.
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Our cleansing crews have been removing debris and rubbish from the Plymouth stretch of the A38 this week.
The work is essential to keep this key route clear of any potential hazards to road users and we work with Highways England to remove accumulated rubbish at regular intervals.
Litter poses a safety risk as it can obstruct important road markings and signage.
Because the road is much quieter than usual, Highways England have agreed for this to take place during the day, which is easier than working overnight. Read more.
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