 
A special message of thanks to the NHS has appeared on roads near to Southampton General Hospital, thanks to our highways team at Balfour Beatty. Hopefully this serves as a little reminder of the city's appreciation of the amazing work you do as you travel to work every day on the front-line of the fight against coronavirus.
We would also like to say a huge thank you to our own staff working hard to protect the most vulnerable and maintain essential services. Southampton is also out in huge numbers every Thursday to thank the delivery drivers, porters, shop workers, teachers, manufacturers, postal workers, cleaners, vets, engineers and the many more who are out there making an unbelievable difference to our lives in these challenging times. Thank you all!
Information on all the support available as we respond to the coronavirus pandemic in Southampton is available on our website.
 Cabinet members have supported the decision to fully reinstate the grass cutting schedule for the city’s parks and open spaces, which will recommence on Monday 27 April. Alongside this, the city's award winning parks will benefit from the full reintroduction of shrub bed maintenance and planting.
Parks and open spaces in Southampton will now receive a Springtime spruce-up in line with the government’s recent advice to councils that they must keep parks open during the coronavirus lockdown. Read the full story on our website.
Our Street Cleansing operatives are working hard to carry out essential cleaning tasks to help stop the spread of the virus.
There's lots of deep cleaning going on and we're targeting transport links and key sites around the city, including bus stops where people are travelling for essential journeys such as to hospitals, supermarkets and pharmacies.
Do you have a photo you’d like to share of one of our Southampton Unsung Heroes?
We appreciate the efforts of all those doing vital work in our response to Coronavirus in Southampton and we want to show our gratitude to those going above and beyond to support their community. From care assistants to bin collection crews to community response volunteers - they are all absolutely vital to the effort to ensure our key services keep running.
Send your Southampton Unsung Hero photos here.
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 Our Community Support Hub can support with a range of services:
- Providing emergency food parcels if you’re unable to leave your home and have no other means of support,
- Arranging deliveries of prescriptions (with the help of our friends at Saints Foundation)
- Linking and connecting you to local support in your local area such as voluntary organisations and community groups
- Or if you’re feeling lonely and would like a chat, we can put you in touch with people who can help
Our dedicated helpline is open Monday-Friday (8.30-5.00) so give us a call on 023 8083 4800, or complete our online form
Take a look at the I need help section of our website to find out more.
 A new helpline has been launched by Solent Mind to support those facing poor mental health and emotional difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Please call: 023 8017 9049. Phone-lines are open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm (except Bank Holidays).
Our experienced advisors will offer you support and ideas to help you cope if you:
- are experiencing poor emotional health or feeling anxious or low
- would like practical guidance on how to keep active and well during isolation
- want to know how you can access specific support, such as benefits advice or bereavement services
- feel your or someone else’s feelings are affecting your relationships or causing more arguments
- are caring for someone affected by Covid-19 and are looking for support.
It’s free and available to anyone who lives in Southampton, Hampshire or the Isle of Wight. You don’t need to be receiving any other kind of mental health support to call. The helpline is not a counselling or therapy service but wellbeing experts will be able to listen and offer information, signposting and bitesize support. If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis please take a look at Solent Mind: urgent help for information on immediate support available any time of the day or night or ring 111.
If you or a loved one are at immediate risk of harming themselves or others, please ring 999.
Read more: advice and guidance on staying well at home
We're working hard to get the Government grants out to local businesses to support you during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
We've had a positive response to the grants so far with 1,684 grants totalling £22.15M being paid out. Over £18M of grant funding is still available.
We have published further information for businesses, including more about grants, on our Coronavirus business support web pages.
We also have a dedicated business support line which you can call on 023 8083 4043.
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The holy month of Ramadan has started and Muslims in Southampton have begun a period of fasting, prayer and introspection. Local mosques are closed due to the pandemic, so we’re joining Imams and community leaders in asking community members to please continue to protect our NHS and save lives by staying home for iftars and prayers and not inviting additional friends or family members into your homes.
There are many websites for cooking healthy recipes during Ramadan to break the fast (iftar) - here is one: Iftar Meal Ideas for 1st 15 Days Of Ramadan Kareem
Please be sure to drink plenty of water and fluids throughout the month and follow the government's advice to stay at home for Ramadan.
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The NHS has set up an Urgent Dental Care Centre in Southampton to provide urgent dental care during the pandemic for four different patient groups.
The centre safely separates the following four categories of patients:
- People who are possible or confirmed COVID-19 patients – including patients with symptoms, or those living in their household
- People who are ‘shielded’ as being at most significant risk from COVID-19
- People who are vulnerable / at increased risk from COVID-19
- Anyone else who does not fit one of the above categories
You will need a dentist to refer you. This may be your usual dentist or another local dental practice which should still be providing phone advice. They will assess the urgency of your need by telephone. If you are shielded or at increased risk, then you’ll be seen in an appropriate setting. Face to face treatment is available when clinically required, or you could be asked to temporarily manage your dental problem, such as taking painkillers or prescribed antibiotics to treat a dental infection.
Contact your local dental practice for a telephone assessment or find one near you.
Outside of usual surgery hours, you should call your local out of hours emergency dental service. Find your local service via NHS111.
Southampton's CCG has also provided advice for when you need support from a dentist on their website.
For further information, please contact the NHSE/I dental team in the South East at ENGLAND.southeastdental@nhs.net. There are a further 35 hubs across the South East. Non-urgent dental care is suspended.
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 Watch a virtual tour of Southampton's Titanic Story at SeaCity Museum and find a range of free online resources to keep learning at home fun, including activity packs to discover more about the RMS Titanic, the Mayflower and more here. You can also join 'Toddler Time' on Facebook, where we'll capture imaginations with some early years fun.
Follow Tudor House and Garden Museum on Facebook and Twitter to watch fascinating short videos from the inside the house and on local history, every Monday. Discover some intriguing secrets from the past on Wednesdays, and join us for regular Friday history quizzes and more.
Over at Southampton City Art Gallery you can learn about Southampton’s fine art collection from home, with an A-Z tour on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We will also be going live in the next few weeks with our digital tour page, so you can explore the current John Hitchens: Aspects of Landscape exhibition online.
Also join Southampton City Libraries on Facebook for regular ‘Digital Rhyme Time’, ‘Story Time’ and craft activities online.
There are many ways you can support our much-loved businesses – some of which won’t you cost a penny. So, why not:
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Order a takeaway - There’s a whole host of local restaurants, bars and cafes now offering delivery services across Southampton.
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Shop local online - Whilst many of your favourite brands and shops are closed, you can still buy some products online for home delivery.
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Leave a review – A free way to support your favourite businesses.
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Buy a gift card – If you have an upcoming present to buy or simply want to treat yourself then why not buy a gift card/voucher either to spend online or to save for a future date?
Read the Visit Southampton blog for the city’s latest offerings and how you can support.
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Smoke and fumes from bonfires can worsen existing respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis and COPD and potentially affect those with heart complaints, causing breathing difficulties for those most vulnerable to Coronavirus.
We encourage you to be mindful of neighbours and your local community and not to burn waste in your garden. Having a bonfire might seem like a good way to clear garden rubbish, especially as the local recycling centres are closed, but with so many people at home this has the potential to impact on many more neighbours than would normally be the case.
If you don’t already, you could think about composting, using grass cuttings as a mulch on your flower beds. You can also sign up to our household garden waste collection service to receive fortnightly collections.
Efforts to improve air quality in the city have delivered improvements over the last ten years but in recent weeks we have seen significant reductions in pollution in response to changes in our behaviour. This can only help the most vulnerable in our communities so let’s try to do what we can to maintain this.
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Road Safety GB has put together some useful tips and information to help you follow social distancing guidelines safely and responsibly while walking, cycling or driving for essential journeys. You can read this on their website.
Please remember that any travel should be for the following reasons only: for food, healthcare reasons, to exercise once a day or to travel to work where you are unable to work from home.
You can find more information about the Government’s guidance on our website.
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