See the latest Coronavirus Weeknotes from our Leader Lynne Doherty and Chief Executive Nick Carter.
Today they discuss the Highway Copse school opening, new Family Safeguarding Model, Covid safety at schools, government announcement about students returning home at end of term, and our community gift-giving campaigns for Christmas.
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Every two weeks we hold our public Local Outbreak Engagement Board (LOEB) meeting at 6pm to discuss how we are controlling the spread of Covid-19 in West Berkshire.
The next meeting will include an update on our Local Contact Tracing work. It takes place at 6pm on Tuesday 23 November – meetings are streamed live and also available to watch later.
You can watch the meeting and view the agenda here.
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We are reminding all residents that it is a legal requirement to self-isolate if:
- You have symptoms of COVID-19 (and arrange a COVID-19 test)
- You have a positive test result
- You are told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace
- You are living with someone who has symptoms or has a positive test result.
If you develop symptoms you must immediately self-isolate and arrange a test. You must only get a test if you have symptoms. This is because an early COVID-19 test could be negative and actually you are still developing infection and could be spreading COVID-19.
Self-isolation means you:
- Stay at home
- Do not go outside
- Do not go to work
- Do not go shopping
If you have symptoms or have tested positive for coronavirus, you'll usually need to self-isolate for at least 10 days.
You'll usually need to self-isolate for 14 days if:
- Someone you live with has symptoms or tested positive
- Someone in your support bubble has symptoms or tested positive
- You've been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace
Even if you get a negative test during your self-isolation, as a close contact you still need to self-isolate for the full 14 days.
You may be entitled to a £500 Test and Trace support payment which is available to people on a low income who have tested for Covid-19 and are required to self-isolate, but consequently cannot work from home.
We’re working hard to keep our care home residents connected with their relatives and friends during the coronavirus pandemic.
We know how much people just want to give their loved ones a hug. Sadly, that’s not possible right now so we’re doing our best to make sure that people can see each other.
All of our care homes now have a dedicated room to allow visits to take place, each situated near the entrance of the building and set up with screens to ensure that everyone can see each other face-to-face whilst distancing safely.
Our care home residents also love getting messages and cards through the post. During the first lockdown, local schools sent letters from the children which brought real joy to our residents. Our homes welcome Christmas Cards from the public, particularly for residents who may not have loved ones to send letters to them.
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This week we launched our Community Santa Christmas giving campaign, which provides gifts for people who have been experiencing hardship due to Covid and have been nominated by their communities to receive a gift.
Due to pandemic restrictions, this is being done digitally this year and we’re asking people to choose a gift recipient via our Community Santa page.
You’ll be able to select a label with anonymised information on the person you’re buying for, for example ‘Girl 8-9 years’ or ‘‘Male 80-89’. Once you’ve made your choice, you will receive details on how to arrange delivery of the gift to us and we’ll arrange distribution.
This campaign also provides a good opportunity to support local businesses by buying gifts from local retailers. We’ll be encouraging gift givers to ‘Shop Local’ this Christmas, whether online where necessary or in person when possible.
In order to arrange delivery by Christmas, please choose your gifts before the scheme closes on Monday 7 December.
Earlier this week Council Leader Lynne Doherty took to Facebook Live to answer your questions on our response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Thank you to everyone who came along to hear about the work we’re doing, and to ask questions. Among the topics covered in the questions were on the Covid-secure measures in schools, the use of facemasks in shops, and the impact on jobs locally.
The video is still available to watch on our Facebook page and is also now on YouTube.
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