There is very welcome news this week that our rates of positive COVID-19 tests in Thurrock have come well down. We are now 37^th out of 149 local authorities where 1 has the most positive cases per 100k, compared to over the New Year when we were in 1^st position for many days.

Well done to everyone in our local community for your hard work in following government guidance and slowing the spread of coronavirus in our borough. However I must stress now is not the time to let complacency creep in – while our rates of transmission have slowed, there is still a long, long way to go before we can begin the process of easing out of this current lockdown.

I know that our communities have the strength and resilience to come together to slow the spread of the virus – we did it last spring and we are already doing it again now – so I urge you to all keep on playing your part so we are able to further lower the rates in Thurrock. A great way to do this is to make sure that if you are working outside of your home that you get a COVID-19 test – even if you have no symptoms at all. We know now that 1 in 3 people who have coronavirus do not display any symptoms, so if you are out working in a shop, a factory or in one of many other essential roles, you could be unknowingly spreading the virus. We are now asking all those who cannot work from home to please get a test once a week at one of the local testing sites – there is more information on how to do this at thurrock.gov.uk/coronavirus-test 

Thurrock has seen a fantastic take up of this with up to 1,000 people who cannot work from home getting tested a day. This level of testing shows how seriously residents are taking this call and the enormous capability to carry out large numbers of test our local test centres have.

While following hands, face, space guidance is vitally important in lowering the spread, if those who have a positive COVID-19 test self-isolate along with everyone they live with, they can be confident they are not then giving this terrible virus to others. If you are self-isolating you should not have visitors to your home or leave it for any reason, including exercise. There are also things you can do to reduce the chances of spreading any infection to the people you live with, which are outlined in an article below.

If you receive a positive test for COVID-19, you may be worried about giving the virus to the rest of your household. There are some ways in which you can lower this risk, mainly by staying away from other people you live with as much as possible.

If you can:

• stay on your own in one room as much as possible and keep the door closed
• avoid using shared spaces (such as the kitchen) at the same time as other people – eat your meals in your room
• clean objects and surfaces you touch often (such as door handles, kettles and phones) using your regular cleaning products
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
• use a separate bathroom if possible
• otherwise, clean it each time you use it, for example, by wiping the surfaces you've touched and do not share towels

As 1 in 3 people with COVID-19 do not have any symptoms, they may inevitably be indoors with people without even realising they are potentially spreading the virus.

Coronavirus is spread through the air by droplets and smaller particles (known as aerosols) that are exhaled from an infected person as they breathe, speak or cough.

They behave in a similar way to smoke but are invisible and the longer people spend in the same room as these particles, the more likely they are to become infected.

Research shows that being in a room with fresh air can reduce your risk of infection from particles by over 70 per cent, as fresh air dilutes the particles.

To ventilate your home you can:

• open windows for short, sharp bursts of 10 to 15 minutes regularly throughout the day
• or alternatively, leave windows open a small amount continuously
• use kitchen or bathroom extractor fans regularly as an additional method to remove infected particles
• this will help remove any infected particles lingering in the room and reduce your risk of infection. You can watch a useful government video about this on YouTube

During the past few weeks we have been encouraging workers who cannot work from home in Thurrock to have a free COVID-19 test at test sites in Thurrock.

COVID-19 cases in Thurrock are gradually falling thanks to local people following the government’s Stay at Home guidance, and through workers getting a COVID-19 test even if they did not have any symptoms. However, we must still protect our friends and family to ensure the spread of coronavirus in Thurrock continues to fall.

There has been excellent take up of this scheme, with more than 1,000 people a day getting tested. However, more women than men are currently being tested, with a relatively low proportion of working men aged 20 to 29 getting a COVID-19 test in the past week. It really is important that this group book a test as soon as possible, as they fall into the category which currently has the highest prevalence of the virus in Thurrock so they may have the virus and not even realise. 

We’re now asking all workers who cannot work from home – including those working in essential shops, construction workers, tradespeople and cleaners – to have a free COVID-19 test once a week using one of the following:

• attending a drive-through test at the site in Crown Road, Grays without needing to book online first. You can drop-in between 9am and 3pm on any day during the week or at weekends.
• booking a drive-through test at the site in Corringham
• booking a walk-through test at sites in Grays or Orsett Heath
• asking to get a test by post

The pick-up and drop-off library test sites will close on Sunday 31 January. If you have picked up a test from any of the three libraries – Belhus, Chadwell and East Tilbury – tests must be dropped back by 4pm on Sunday 31 January, otherwise these will need to be registered online for posting back in a priority post-box (following the instructions provided on the pack).

With many of us spending more time indoors as we stay at home to protect the NHS it is more important than ever that our homes and neighbourhoods are safe spaces.

Something which can have a serious effect on the lives of vulnerable residents, and their neighbours, is a practice known as ‘cuckooing’ which sees violent drug gangs exploit and victimise vulnerable residents to take over their address and use it as a base of operations to sell drugs from.

Drug dealers convince a vulnerable person to let them into their home and use it to sell drugs from, once they are in they take over all aspects of their life and use fear, intimidation and violence to ensure they can keep using the address to ply their evil trade. They target people who are lonely, isolated and often have addiction issues themselves.

These cuckooed properties not only destroy the lives of the people who are living in them, they also bring criminality and drug users into the neighbourhood that home is in.

Recently partnership working between Thurrock Council, Essex Police and a local housing association led to a vulnerable resident in Grays, who had found their life and home taken over by drug dealers, being freed from the appalling situation they found themselves in and their persecutors being arrested.

If anyone suspects a property near them is being used in this way by drug dealers they can make an anonymous report through Crimestoppers either online or by calling them on 0800 555 111.

Signs that 'cuckooing' may be going on at a property include:

• an increase in people entering and leaving
• an increase in cars or bikes outside 
• possible increase in anti-social behaviour 
• increasing litter outside
• signs of drugs use
• absence of healthcare visitors