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Friday 30 April
Have a fun – safe – bank holiday weekend
 We’re gearing up to make sure people who are out and about over the bank holiday weekend feel safe.
Going out is still not like the old days of 2019. In a few weeks things will hopefully be different but, for now, here’s what we – the Council, Devon and Cornwall Police, Destination Plymouth and the City Centre and Waterfront BIDs – are doing to make you feel safe.
COVID marshals will patrol the Barbican, city centre and Hoe. Working with the police, they will help deal with anti-social behaviour and COVID regulations, especially making sure people stick to the rule of six and two households restrictions. The mobile CCTV car will also be out.
Extra police officers will be on shift from late afternoon into the small hours and our youth team will keep an eye on some of our younger residents, who may be out way past their bedtimes.
There will be street marshals on the taxi ranks on the Barbican on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to keep order and make sure passengers wear masks when they get in the cab.
To help keep the city clean we have extra staff working extended hours from 6am until 8pm. Cleaning teams working seven days a week and an extra late shift from now until October will keep an eye on cleanliness and emptying bins, including bulk bins installed on the Hoe.
There are 13 temporary loos on the Hoe and two in Vauxhall Street car park.
Toilets in the city centre and on the waterfront will be cleaned three times a day and there are three accessible toilets upstairs at Armada Way, available from 8am to midnight for those with a radar key (up to 6pm for others). Toilets around the Barbican remain open until 11pm.
We’re taking our mobile testing site on a road trip to hand out free COVID-19 testing kits.
These are lateral flow tests, which schools and businesses have been using for some time. Now we are trying to encourage everyone, as they go out and about more, to get into the habit of testing themselves at least twice a week.
This will play a key role in detecting cases of COVID-19 where there are no symptoms and will help us all to keep the infection rate down.
We also have our stall in Place de Brest (in the city centre), which is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.
The city’s pharmacies stock the testing kits and you can pick one up in our libraries too. You can also order a box of tests online or by calling 119.
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 Dig out your swimwear! Tinside Lido (recently dubbed the UK's most Instagrammable pool by Hello magazine) and Mount Wise swimming pools are opening early this year.
The much-loved outdoor pools will be welcoming people back from Saturday 1 May, with measures in place to help keep visitors safe as well as active. There will be limits on the numbers of swimmers allowed and sessions will need to be booked in advance.
Voters will head to the polls on Thursday 6 May to have their say in elections for the Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Months of preparations have gone into ensuring the whole election process is as safe as possible and many of the measures we’ve become used to will be in place at polling stations.
They include hand sanitiser, floor markings and face coverings, as well as queuing systems to allow social distancing (so you may need to be patient at busy times).
Polling booths will be cleaned regularly throughout the day and, while people are encouraged to take their own pencil or pen, pencils will be provided and sanitised between uses.
Polls will open at 7am and close at 10pm. Votes will be verified overnight and counted from 1.30pm on Friday 7 May. Results will be published on our website and on Twitter @plymouthcc (follow #plymelections).
See our 2021 elections pages for more information, including details of your local polling station and a list of candidates.
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This July, the major international Mayflower 400 commemoration event will take place on the largest stage Plymouth Hoe has ever seen – and free tickets are available to book now.
The Mayflower 400 Four Nations Ceremony tells the story of the Pilgrims’ journey in search of religious freedom and explores its impact on the world.
Singers from choirs and schools across the region will be accompanied by HM Royal Marines Band Plymouth in performing brand new music, accompanied by actors on stage and bespoke film footage, all narrated to tell this unique story.
The event is being ticketed to safeguard against COVID-19. Tickets are free but must be booked prior to entry.
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We have a further £800,000 of Additional Restrictions Grant funding to distribute to local businesses, helping them to recover from the impact of COVID-19.
As there is only a small amount of funding available we will be prioritising certain businesses and sectors for support, particularly those that have not received any financial support for the lockdowns in November 2020 and January to March 2021.
Applications for the new ARG funding close at 10am on Tuesday 4 May (or once all the funding has been allocated) so, if eligible, please apply as quickly as possible.
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Watch Plymouth's interfaith COVID-19 service
Faith leaders across the city have come together for a special thanksgiving service to remember those who lost their lives due to COVID-19 and show their commitment to working together as Plymouth comes out of the pandemic.
The service, hosted by the Lord Mayor, was attended by religious leaders including Sh Hichem on behalf of the local Muslim community, Cassie Roberts, the Chief Executive of Odils Leaning Foundation and Simon Fletcher, the Lead Chaplain at the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust.
The service will be streamed on our Facebook and YouTube accounts on Sunday 2 May at 10am.
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