 Yesterday (26 July), Lynne Doherty, our Council Leader, held a Facebook Live session for residents, which was broadcast live from Newbury Library.
Lynne provided an update on the COVID situation in West Berkshire and our district recovery plans.
Lynne also invited Felicity Harrison, our Libraries Manager, to talk about the latest news from our library services. Felicity explained the safety measures in place and gave an overview about the current Summer Reading Challenge.
If you didn't get a chance to attend the event, you are welcome to watch the replay.
 Daily contact testing rolled out to critical sectors
The government has recently announced that daily contact testing will be offered to emergency service and critical workers in order to avoid potential disruption to crucial services.
Daily contact testing will be rolled out to additional testing sites in England so that eligible workers who have received alerts from the NHS COVID-19 app or have been called by NHS Test and Trace can continue working if they test negative. Employers and workers taking part in daily contact testing will be provided with guidance about the protocols they must follow. See further information.
Stay safe with twice-weekly testing for all residents
Help keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the virus by having twice-weekly lateral flow tests, three to four days apart. This is a rapid test for COVID-19 and it is free of charge. It is for people without any COVID symptoms, even if you have had one or both doses of the vaccine.
Please note that from August our Mobile Community Collect service will be changing, with some new routes and stops. We will be updating our web page within the next few days.
If you have COVID symptoms you must book a PCR test by calling 119 or visiting www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test.
 In their Weeknotes issued last Friday (23 July), Council Leader Lynne Doherty and Chief Executive Nick Carter discussed the importance of getting fully vaccinated, getting tested, and self-isolating for those who test positive and their household members. They also explain the factors taken into consideration for developing a Local Plan for housing and commercial development.
 Our most recent public Local Outbreak Engagement Board meeting was held on Monday, 19 July. Agenda items included updates on the NHS vaccination programme, COVID-19 situation update, Public Protection Partnership and our COVID-related communications activities.
The next public meeting is being held on Monday, 2 August at 6pm. See agenda.
The guidance on COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccination free of charge has been translated into 40 different languages by the Department of Health and Social Care.
The following resources are also available in various languages:
 Our Economy Team has issued Roadmap advice and grant information for business owners and managers in our latest Business Newsletter. You can sign up to receive the newsletter on this page if you are not already a subscriber.
We remind all businesses to notify our Environmental Health Officer on cv19notifications@westberks.gov.uk about any outbreaks in your workplace.
Please also encourage workers to fill in the field around their ‘place of work’ if identified as a case.
See the latest government guidance for further information.
Coping with the pandemic has had a detrimental impact on many of us in different ways. During these difficult times it is important that we take care of our mental health and wellbeing. Here are some resources for adults, children and young people that you may find useful:
Recovery in Mind offers free courses to people who want to improve their mental health and wellbeing. Recovery in Mind is committed to the personal recovery of their students through compassion and a shared belief that recovery IS possible.
Their next 'Welcome to Recovery' course starts from 15 September. The aim of the course is to look at various aspects of what they call 'your recovery journey', a footpath to improving your mental health and wellbeing.
For more information visit www.recoveryinmind.org
 Talking Therapies is a friendly, approachable NHS service for anyone aged over 17 living in Berkshire. They offer support if you are coping with challenges such as depression, stress, anxiety, sleep issues or phobias. They have a range of therapies including counselling, online programmes and workshops. You can refer yourself or access support via from Talking Therapies via your GP. See website: https://talkingtherapies.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/
Emotional Health Academy and Triage services for young people - These free services help children and young people under 19 years old get help for mild to moderate mental health problems. Find out more.
In addition, our Emotional Health Academy and Triage services have launched a new newsletter for children, young people and their families on emotional and mental health issues. Download first edition and signup to receive future editions every two months.
“We’re jabbin’ Hope you are jabbin’ too!”
 There's a new dance challenge for young adults to produce a TikTok video to the soundtrack of Bob Marley’s ‘Jamming’. The aim is to help encourage people aged 18-29 to get their COVID-19 vaccination.
If you know or work with young adults, we invite you to let them know about the fun Challenge.
A 27-second demo video displaying the Jabbin’ dance, along with a video teaching you how to do the dance, are featured on TikTok @jabbin_dance.
See also instructions on how to create a Jabbin' TikTok video for the Challenge.
This new project has been produced by Public Health Berkshire in partnership with Artemis Studios. We look forward to seeing the Challenge results!
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