This is intended to keep you updated on the latest developments linked to Covid-19. The bulletin includes information on:

• Half-term holiday guidance
• Households with links to Leek schools urged to get a test
• Walk-in pop-up testing centre in Longton
• COVID-19 cases in the city
• Book a COVID-19 test
• Vaccine update
• Self-isolation and vaccine guidance
• Stoke-cation
• EU Settlement Scheme - 29 days left to apply
• Support services

Half term holiday guidance

We hope that families across the city are enjoying the half-term holiday. Many of us will be spending time with loved ones and visiting our favourite restaurants and attractions that have reopened. Please do remember to be cautious and safe when you are out and about.

Please remember to follow the guidance, get tested twice a week, and practice Hands, Face, Space and Fresh Air to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus:

• Two households or up to six people are able meet indoors, including for overnight stays.
• Outdoor gatherings of up to 30 people are able to take place.
• You no longer have to limit close contact among friends and family. This means that you do not have to social distance from your close friends and family. It is now up to you to decide whether to maintain distance or not, and you must remain cautious. Close contact still remains a direct way of transmitting coronavirus.
• Social distancing will be maintained in public places such as in shops, pubs, parks and other settings such as businesses and adult social care locations.
• Face coverings must still be worn in indoor public places.

It’s down to us to protect those who are vulnerable and weigh up the risks – please remember close contact increases the risk of transmitting the disease and meeting outdoors is always safer than indoors. For more information on the Government’s roadmap to easing lockdown, please visit gov.co.uk

Households with links to Leek schools urged to get a test

Households with links to all Leek schools are being urged to get a Covid PCR after cases of the Indian Variant are suspected in the town.

To date 28 people with links to Westwood College, St Edward’s Middle School and Leek High School have tested positive for the virus and almost 1,000 pupils and staff are self-isolating due to being close contacts with the cases or part of school bubbles.

Health chiefs suspect some cases may be due to the Variant of Concern (VOC) first found in India.

Staffordshire County Council and Public Health England are now taking the proactive step of urging families with links to ALL schools in Leek to get a PCR. test, as these tests can be sent for genotyping.

Staff and customers who visited the following venues on the specified dates are also being urged to get tested. This is because people may have visited the venues while infectious.

• The Three Horseshoes Country Inn & Spa, Buxton Road, Blackshaw Moor ST13 8TW between 24-26 May
• The Black Lion, 12 Hollow Lane Cheddleton, ST13 7HP between 22-23 May

Walk-in pop-up testing centre in Longton

We've launched an enhanced community testing scheme which means we can target very specific communities, and give them advice about testing, help them to do lateral flow tests there and then, and hand out home testing kits and explain how they are used.

This week, teams are in Longton. Here are details of the next testing centre for people who are not showing COVID-19 symptoms:

Date: Friday, 4 June 2021

Time: 1 - 5pm

Location: Longton Park Bandstand

Please do come and say hello and feel free to ask the teams any questions you have about COVID-19 testing.

COVID-19 cases in the city and home testing kits

The seven-day rate of coronavirus cases in the city is now 19.9 per 100,000 people, for the week 21 May to 27 May. This is a decrease of 10.5 per cent on the previous seven days. The percentage of people who have had a test and tested positive is 0.7 per cent

Everyone in England is now able to access two home LFT kits each week. They are free and there are be various ways you can access them. The kits are quick to use from home, and give results in 30 minutes. One in three people with coronavirus don’t show symptoms, so the tests are really important in helping to quickly spot positive cases and squash any outbreaks. Testing twice a week should now be a normal part of our lives, even if you have had the vaccination as you can still spread the virus, and there are still lots of people who have not yet had their jabs.

It’s also really important that your test results are registered online or over the phone - whether your result is positive, negative or a void result. If testing at home, residents will need to register their results online or by calling 119. They should self-isolate if positive and order a confirmatory PCR test within 48 hours of a positive LFT.

Community Collect

Home testing kits are available to collect from a number of venues across the city. Our staff are trained and on hand to help you and they are available to answer any questions or concerns you may have and to talk you through how to use these tests. You can find out more details about the community collect venues which offer this via https://www.stoke.gov.uk/communitycollect

Pharmacy collection:

You can also collect home testing kits from 58 pharmacies across the city. You can find out where you can collect them from via a map on the NHS website. Click here to find out more.

Ordering tests online:

If you cannot collect a home test kit from a community testing site or pharmacy, you can order them online by clicking here.

PCR tests

If you have one of the three main symptoms then you are not eligible for lateral flow testing. You should instead book a test through https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test, or by calling 119.

Please also remember that confirmatory PCR tests for positive lateral flow tests have been reintroduced. It is really important that everyone has a confirmatory PCR test within 48 hours maximum of a positive lateral flow test (LFT) at our community venues.

Book a COVID-19 test

It’s so important we all get tested regularly for coronavirus – at least twice a week –particularly with students and staff returning to school next week after half term (primary-age pupils do not need to be regularly tested). There are different ways that are convenient for you to access tests. Every test we take helps ensure we are protecting are families, friends, colleagues and communities. If we want lockdown restrictions to continue to ease, we must keep testing twice a week and follow the guidance.

You will still be able to book tests at our community testing centres and there are still plenty of slots available. A full list of community locations and booking options and a range of locations, dates and times for the week ahead the are available on our website via www.stoke.gov.uk/bookacovid19test. 

Please also check out our venues which offer the Community Collect service – where you can pick up your free homes testing kits. More information on this can be found via  https://www.stoke.gov.uk/communitycollect

Vaccine update

If you are aged 30 or over, or if you turn 30 before 1 July 2021, you can now book your COVID-19 vaccine.

The order in which people are being offered the vaccine is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Those who are eligible can book their vaccine by visiting the NHS website or calling 119

Self-isolation and vaccine guidance

Please remember that even if you have had one or both doses of your COVID-19 vaccination, you can still catch the virus and you can still pass it on to others. It is important that you get tested at least twice a week, and if you come into contact with the virus, you must still complete the self-isolation period  for ten days.  

Click here for more guidance on self-isolation for households with possible COVID-19 infection.

Click here for more guidance on what to do if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace.

Click here to find out more about applying for a Test and Trace support payment of £500.

Start planning your #Stokecation

Your 2021 holiday plans abroad may still be in doubt but you don’t need to travel far from your front door to enjoy a summer of fun! This summer provides a wonderful opportunity to explore our city and enjoy what’s on your doorstep. Browse through Visit Stoke’s guides and start planning your summer Stoke-cation.

From walks with monkeys to picnics in the park, the city has lots of offer. Discover Stoke-on-Trent's remarkable story in our award-winning museums and visitor centres, test your own creative skills with our hands-on pottery making opportunities and shop 'til you drop with a great range of pottery factory shops. We are a city that loves to have fun.

EU Settlement Scheme - 29 days left to apply

From today, there are only 29 days to go until the deadline of 30 June 2021 for applications to be made to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

All EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members who were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, should apply without delay so that they can continue to work, study, and access free healthcare and benefits in the UK after 30 June 2021.

For more information, visit here.

Support services

There are lots of brilliant support services across the city who can help with a wide range of issues you may be facing, such as domestic abuse, mental health, homelessness and financial issues. Please go to https://www.stoke.gov.uk/supportservices to find out more information about some of them.

The 24-hour mental health helpline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you're struggling with your mental health, please call 01782 234233 to access support.

You can access our #StokeonTrentTogether support service if you need help because you're shielding, self-isolating or struggling due to the pandemic. You can contact them via 01782 234234 Mondays to Thursdays between 9am and  5pm, and Fridays between 9am and 4.30pm. You can find out more about what #StokeonTrentTogether can help you with by clicking here.

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