Coronavirus Update: Mandatory face coverings, join our citizens panel and leisure centres to reopen

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Leader of the Council Clare Coghill green background

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

I know how hard it has been over the past few months for us all but we all need to continue to keep each other safe and healthy and remember that Covid-19 has not gone away completely. We can all play our part by keeping a safe social distance from others, regularly washing our hands and getting tested immediately if you experience coronavirus symptoms. If you are unsure whether they are covid like symptoms then you can find a full list on this helpful web page. If you think you have symptoms, then get tested by visiting the NHS website or calling 119.

From tomorrow (Friday 24 July) it will be mandatory for you to wear a face covering when visiting any shops whether that be supermarkets, smaller local businesses or clothes shops. You also need to continue to wear one when travelling on any public transport as they do reduce the spread of the virus, which will save lives. Children under 11, people with disabilities, those with breathing difficulties and those who travel with someone who needs to lip read are all exempt from wearing a face covering.

Thanks to everyone that has played their part in helping us to reduce the spread. We are now working on further plans to ensure cases remain low as well as plan for a spike in cases which we have unfortunately seen elsewhere in the country. You can help in this work by signing up to be a member of our citizens panel (details below).

Leisure Centres to reopen

From the 25 July 2020, Better Leisure Centres at Leytonstone LC. Leyton Gym, Walthamstow, The Feel Good Centre and Chingford will reopen to the public. Facilities at Leyton Leisure Centre and Feel Good Too will open at a later date.

In line with government advice, they will be operating a booking system for people to attend the gym, fitness classes, and swimming pools. Please do not turn up without having booked a slot before arrival. There will be additional hygiene stations for visitors, and we ask residents to turn up ‘gym/pool ready’ and to avoid changing rooms and showers.

For more information, please visit Better UK’s website

Choose Local. Support Everyone. – Meet the business owner

Covid-19 is going to hit local businesses particularly hard and in the coming weeks and months, they will need your support to not only get back on their feet, but thrive in a post-pandemic environment.

We want people to shop locally and support local businesses. Our Choose Local. Support Everyone. campaign will showcase some of the best of Waltham Forest, highlighting those with strong ties to their local community and a passion for what they do.

This week, meet the fabulous Adrienne from Leytonstone Mini Market, who provides some top-tips on her Leytonstone hotspots.

Read an interview with Adrienne.

Watch Adrienne's story

Chingford library to reopen

Chingford Library and Assembly Hall through The Green

As our libraries teams continue to work hard to safely reopen across the borough, we're pleased to see Chingford library reopen on Monday 27 July.

As with all our open libraries, there will be changes to capacity and extra measures in place to keep our residents and staff safe. These will include social distancing and extra cleaning, so please make sure you follow these when using these shared spaces.

Walthamstow Library remains open for pre-booked registrar appointments and the purchase of parking permits only.

Learn more

Free virtual cooking course

Have you spent time in lockdown trying new dishes or baking up a storm in the kitchen? If you're interested in learning new cooking skills, join Bags of Taste for a culinary adventure.

This virtual course, taught via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or over the phone, will make cooking exciting, inspiring and affordable, with all dishes come in at under £1 a meal.

The course teaches basic cooking techniques and simple global recipes that you will find useful in countless other recipes. This course is entirely free and comes with the home delivery of a generous ingredients bag, with enough to cook seven meals at home.

To register your interest, please email Bags of Taste or text/WhatsApp/call 07968 701 455

Home improvements continue

During the pandemic our homes have become hugely important, with us all having to spend so much more time at home with our loved ones.

Cllr Louise Mitchell, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness Prevention, visited the home of the Hobbs family in Leyton which has been the 50^th Waltham Forest household to benefit from the Council’s living standards improvement campaign.

Robert and Linda Hobbs and their two sons were living in an overcrowded two-bedroom home - the loft conversion has created a new bedroom and second bathroom, creating more space for the family to stretch out and enjoy.

The £60m programme, delivered with partners Aston Group, improves living standards through conversions and better energy efficiency measures.

Read their story.

Join our citizens panel

We're beginning our Covid-19 recovery plans and one of our first steps is engaging with our residents to better understand how we can support our communities going forward. We are looking for a broad and balanced mix of residents to join our citizen panel which will help us to tackle the virus locally as part of our Local Outbreak Control Plan.

The panel will be kept up to date with our key Covid-19 recovery plans and will also be supplied with a £100 voucher for their commitment. Applications will close on Monday 27 July.

Apply to join our panel.

Schools out for summer

As per the government announcement that all pupils are to return to school full-time from September, we ask for your continued patience as schools work to get ready for this.

We expect all schools in Waltham Forest to open in September, including our nurseries and early years providers. Safety continues to be paramount for children and staff and the Council will continue to work with schools to support them to reduce the risk of transmission whilst also supporting children and young people back into effective learning.

As we come to the end of the Summer term, we would like to thank you for all you have done to support your child during these unprecedented times, and of course, all our school and early years staff for their incredible dedication and hard work during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Find out about summer activities for children and young people over the next six weeks, plus information on childcare, with our holiday programme.

Donate and save lives

Plasma from people who have recovered from Covid-19 might help save lives of people who are seriously ill with the disease. It may contain antibodies that their immune systems have produced in fighting the virus.

The plasma can be transfused to patients whose immune systems are struggling to develop their own antibodies. The NHS Blood and Transplant service is looking for plasma donations from anyone who has recovered as they investigate whether transfusions may improve a patient’s speed of recovery and chances of survival.

They are particularly appealing for donors from the Asian community. If you can help, please visit the website or call 0300 123 23 23.

Your donation could save a life.

The show will go on

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the construction, entertainment, and hospitality industries – however, in some good news, the project to restore Walthamstow’s iconic former EMD cinema has been able to proceed without any delay.

The partnership between the Council and Soho Theatre will create a 950-seat theatre with a bar and restaurant space in the heart of the borough. After the project was agreed at Planning Committee on Tuesday 2 June, the contractor Willmott Dixon has been able to undertake initial survey work and, through careful project management, there should not be significant delays as we work toward a launch event in spring 2022.

Read the full story

Council Services

Our teams are continuing to deliver vital services and are working hard to reopen services as and when it is safe to do so.

Learn more about our services and how to access them.

Information and advice regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19) is changing quickly and its important you keep up to date with those changes. The Council will be using email newsletters to keep residents and businesses up to date.

If residents have questions please visit our website, and use live chat to talk to one of our team, it's quicker than phoning.

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