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This is intended to keep you updated on the latest developments linked to Covid-19. The bulletin includes information on:
- #StokeonTrentTogether
- Stoke-on-Trent local contact tracing
- If you are showing symptoms you must book a test
- Remember at Home
- Impact of Coronavirus survey report
- Indoor markets open for essential items
- Government extends furlough to March and increases self-employed support
- Business grants - updates will be available soon
#StokeonTrentTogether
The city council-run initiative with voluntary sector partner VAST to support vulnerable people, #StokeonTrentTogether will now be available seven days a week. The support service is being extended to help provide care to the city’s most vulnerable residents. The service is running 9am to 5pm.
Residents can access the #StokeonTrentTogether helpline – 0800 561 5610 – or visit www.corona19.vast.org.uk. Residents are also encouraged to contact the service if they would like to volunteer their time to give support or give donations.
Earlier this year, the campaign made over 100,000 proactive welfare calls to city residents, provided 4,745 requests for food parcels, received 1,886 requests for prescription collections and made 112 referrals for support services for people experiencing loneliness.
From Monday redeployed libraries staff will be making proactive calls to vulnerable residents and offering support with accessing help with shopping, prescriptions, loneliness or dog walking. Teams are also referring people for income and debt advice if they express concerns with this.
Stoke-on-Trent local contact tracing
Local contact tracing for residents in the city is also set to be further strengthened by Stoke-on-Trent City Council next week. Working in partnership with Public Health England, the city council will be extending the service to seven days a week reaching residents across the city that have tested positive for coronavirus.
The service was set up to support national contact tracing. Residents who have had a positive test and need to self-isolate, but who the national service has been unable to reach within 24 hours are passed to the city council to contact using local knowledge and information. Teams call residents and tell them that they must self-isolate at home to help stop the spread of the virus. Currently the national service is only able to contact around 60 per cent of those who have had a positive test.
Strengthening the service with more trained staff and longer opening hours will mean more public health data can be accessed quicker and a tailored local service can be offered to more residents in the city.
Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones, director of adult social care, health integration and wellbeing said: “I am really pleased that we’ve been able to extend our local contract tracing service to seven days a week to help in the ongoing effort to trace residents with positive test results, so they can self-isolate as soon as possible. This is a vital tool in stopping the spread of the virus.
“Through the contact tracing service, we will also ensure support services such as #StokeonTrentTogether are signposted to residents while self-isolating, something we know is vital for our more vulnerable residents.”
If you are showing symptoms you must book a test
If you have any suspicion of having coronavirus, get a test. There is plenty of capacity. Testing is available seven days a week, if you start showing symptoms (you have a high temperature, you have a new, continuous cough or you’ve lost your sense of smell or taste or it’s changed) at the weekend, you must not wait until Monday, you must get a test straight away.
Testing sites in Stoke-on-Trent:
- Stoke City FC South Car Park- drive through
- Fenton Manor Car Park- walk through
Bookings can be made via www.nhs.uk/coronavirus, or ringing 119, where help is available in other languages.
If not successful through the national booking, people can book for a community test 48 hours in advance on a rolling basis if they are showing coronavirus symptoms at www.stoke.gov.uk
Community testing is at The Regent Centre, Regent Road Hanley ST1 3EG:
- Monday 9 November: 10am-12:30pm
- Tuesday 10 November: 10am-12:30pm
It is vitally important whilst waiting for test results, you must self-isolate.This includes anyone you live with and anyone in your support bubble also. Please remember this means not visiting loved ones, however hard that may be; it is the right thing to do.
Remember at Home
There will be no traditional service this remembrance Sunday (8 November), please remember at home. You can take part in remote and socially distanced remembrance activity, whether that be watching the service on television or pausing for the Two Minute Silence in your home or on your doorstep.
You can watch a livestream on our Facebook page the city council's service at the Cenotaph on Sunday 8 November from 10:45am.
In a first for the city, both Hanley Town Hall and Stoke Town Hall will be lit up in red from Friday (6 November) to Sunday (8 November) as part of the commemorations.
You can find the latest information from the Royal British Legion.
Impact of Coronavirus survey report
Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent and Healthwatch Staffordshire have published their coronavirus patient experience report, which looked at the impact that COVID-19 had on local health and social care services by gathering feedback from members of the public. The survey was a collaborative piece of work with Together We’re Better including Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire County Council and comes in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic. To download the full report, please click here.
Indoor markets open for essential items
Under lockdown restrictions indoor markets can remain open but only stalls that offer essential retail, such as grocery and food. Support a local, independent business by choosing our indoor markets to shop for your essentials.
Open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm.
Open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9am to 5pm.
Open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9am to 5pm.
Open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9am to 5pm.
Please remember to adhere to the social distancing measures in place when you visit. Visit www.stoke.gov.uk/markets for more information about our city wide markets.
Government extends furlough to March and increases self-employed support
- businesses and people across the UK given certainty over winter months with further support announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak
- the furlough scheme will now be extended until the end of March – protecting millions of jobs across all nations
- the next self-employed income support grant will also increase from 55% to 80% of average profits - up to £7,500
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will now run until the end of March with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked.
Similarly, support for millions more workers through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will be increased, with the third grant covering November to January calculated at 80% of average trading profits, up to a maximum of £7,500.
The furlough scheme was initially extended until 2 December. But the government is now going further so that support can be put in place for long enough to help businesses recover and get back on their feet – as well as giving them the certainty they need in coming months. Evidence from the first lockdown showed that the economic effects are much longer lasting for businesses than the duration of restrictions.
There are currently no employer contribution to wages for hours not worked. Employers will only be asked to cover National Insurance and employer pension contributions for hours not worked. For an average claim, this accounts for just 5% of total employment costs or £70 per employee per month. The CJRS extension will be reviewed in January to examine whether the economic circumstances are improving enough for employers to be asked to increase contributions.
On top of this, the government has announced:
- cash grants of up to £3,000 per month for businesses which are closed worth more than £1 billion every month
- £1.1 billion is being given to Local Authorities, distributed on the basis of £20 per head, for one-off payments to enable them to support businesses more broadly
- plans to extend existing government-backed loan schemes and the Future Fund to the end of January, and an ability to top-up Bounce Back Loans
- an extension to the mortgage payment holiday for homeowners
- up to £500 million of funding for councils to support the local public health response.
Click here to view the economic support factsheet
Business grants - updates will be available soon
The Business Support Team have been receiving enquiries from local businesses on what grants are available to support them during lockdown. Details on the grants and on the application process will soon be available on https://www.stoke.gov.uk/businessgrants. Please keep an eye on this page for the latest information.
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