Suffolk County Council – COVID-19 daily bulletin – 2nd July

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Current UK Alert Level: 3

On 19/06/2020 update from the UK Chief Medical Officers on the UK alert level confirmed that the UK COVID-19 alert level has been lowered from risk level 4 to risk level 3. It does not mean that the pandemic is over. The virus is still in general circulation, and localised outbreaks are likely to occur.

 

Please note the Government’s messaging is ‘stay alert, control the virus, save lives’ (previously ‘stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives’)

 

 

 

Current UK Situation

  • As of 4:01 pm on 1 July, 313,483 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, of those, 43,906 have died across all settings. You can view the latest UK dashboard and cases by local authority here. Confirmed cases* in Suffolk are broken down by Districts & Boroughs as follows:

 

Ipswich

353

256.7 per 100,000 residents

East Suffolk

625

251.8 per 100,000 residents

Mid Suffolk

187

182.5 per 100,000 residents

Babergh

156

170.7 per 100,000 residents

West Suffolk

244

136.4 per 100,000 residents

Suffolk

1,565

206.3 per 100,000 residents

 

 

 

 *Please note numbers may go up or down as the reported data are continually checked and cleaned.

 

 

COVID19 related news from GOV.UK

 

Other COVID19 related news

BBC UK:

BBC Health:

  • Suicide fears soar in LGBT community: Multiple charities have reported increases in LGBT people accessing services for support with mental health and suicide prevention. Support group LGBT Hero has reported over 44% increase in people accessing its suicide prevention web page compared to the first three months of the year.

BBC Global Picture:

·       Globally there are 10.6 million coronavirus cases and more than 515,500 deaths.

·       Countries in the Middle East have reached “a critical threshold” in their fight against COVID-19, as per the World Health Organization.

·       52,982 people tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday in USA – a new one-day record.

·       Generic drug firms in India, Pakistan and Egypt will start production of COVID-19 drug remdesivir. This comes after reports of the US buying nearly all of the next three months supply of the drug.

·       The UN Security Council has called for a three-month ceasefire in all conflicts, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

 

Suffolk

 

Testing data: Today the government will publish covid-19 pillar 2 testing data. Up until this point the data that has been published at a local level has been pillar 1 data which is based on the amount of people who have been tested via NHS and Public Health England laboratories. Pillar 2 tests are tests which have been processed in commercial laboratories, and this data will include tests conducted in wider community settings, such as the Copdock site in Ipswich. Not all cases identified will be new,  they will be cases that have been identified since pillar 2 testing has been up and running. Suffolk remains an area with low cumulative case rates and unlike areas such as Leicester, there is no current evidence to suggest weekly cases are increasing, and cumulative population case rates remain statistically significantly lower than England.

 

Vans, trailers and trade waste now accepted at nine of Suffolk’s recycling centres: In line with the phased approach to reopening Suffolk’s recycling centres, people with vans, trailers and trade waste can now book an appointment to visit nine of the county’s 11 recycling centres. Bookings can be made now for time slots available tomorrow [Thursday July 2] and over the next seven days. All visitors will need to pre-book an appointment online before arriving, where they will be asked what type of vehicle they will use and whether they are bringing household or business waste. In order to prevent queueing on neighbouring roads, people without a booking will not be able to enter the site. Social distancing measures also operate on site. Click here for more information.

 

You can now get tested in Framlingham: A Government mobile testing unit is available today and Sunday at the Framlingham College Leisure Centre. Additional dates are planned. If you have symptoms of coronavirus, you must immediately start isolating for 7 days and get tested. Symptoms are a high temperature, or a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste. To book a test, visit www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or call 119. You can request a home test kit or visit a local testing centre. These can regularly be found in: Beccles, Bury St Edmunds, Eye, Framlingham, Halesworth, Haverhill, Ipswich, Leiston, Lowestoft, Sudbury. For more information visit www.suffolk.gov.uk/testing and see “Where can I get tested in Suffolk?”

 

 

Key National Guidance updates

The existing guidance is being updated extremely regularly so please check any guidance relevant to your area to ensure that you are accessing the most up to date version. We are not including in this table all the published material but some of the key guidance that would be relevant to Suffolk County Council and our partners.

 

 

Title

Who For

Comments

NEW

Protective measures for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings for children during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

Professionals

Guidance on provision of activities over the summer holiday with safety measures in place. Guidance includes information on:    -carrying out risk assessment

-considering group sizes

-indoor provision

-how should you manage toilet usage

-PPE

NEW

Guidance for full opening – schools

Professionals

Guidance for schools reopening in autumn, includes information on:

-Advice to minimise coronavirus risks

-Grouping children in ‘bubbles’

-Contingency planning for outbreaks

NEW

Guidance for full opening: special schools and other specialist settings

Professionals

Guidance for special educational settings when they reopen fully in September, includes:

-Temporary changes to SEND legislation

-Risk assessment

-Contingency plans for outbreaks

UPDATED

Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

Professionals

New content includes:

-Risk assessment

-Supporting staff with increased risk factors

Updated content includes:

-Attendance at settings for those shielding, with changes to the advice effective from 1 August

UPDATED

Actions for FE colleges and providers during the coronavirus outbreak

Professionals

Guidance on actions to be taken by further education providers from September, includes:

-Safeguarding young people

-Education and training delivery

UPDATED

Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for local government

Professionals

Multiple links added, including:

-Walk through local testing sites now offering appointments

-Funding for emergency accommodation and support for EEA rough sleepers

-Safe use of council buildings

UPDATED

Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested

Care home staff and residents

Updated 2 attachments ‘guidance on Randox testing’ and ‘how to use Randox test kits’

UPDATED

Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for children’s social care services

Professionals

All primary legislation remains unchanged. Temporary and time-limited amendments on secondary legislation.

Added content on:

-missing children

-testing

-technology initiatives

-social care services for disabled children, young people and their families

Revised sections on:

-fostering and adoption

-court

 

 

Useful Websites

 

 

Title

Who For

Comments

1

NHS – COVID-19 go-to page

General Public

 

2

GOV.UK – COVID-19 homepage

Main cover webpage for all government guidance for public & professionals alike

 

3

Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance

Main collection of guidance for anyone in any setting

Guidance includes:
– Guidance for the public (incl. social distancing and shielding)
– Guidance for non-clinical settings (incl. cleaning, educational settings, employees, employers, businesses, residential care, supported living and home care)
– Guidance for health professionals
– Infection prevention and control (incl. PPE)
– Sampling and diagnostics

4

Heatwave Plan for England

Professionals

 

5

Mental health support and advice from:

General public, staff and carers

 

6

Chronic disease self- care during COVID-19:

General public

 

7

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) COVID-19 homepage

Professionals

 

8

Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker

Professionals

The tracker compares worldwide government responses to the coronavirus rigorously and consistently. The Oxford team collects information on common policy responses, scores the stringency of such measures, and aggregates these into a Stringency Index.

 

As of 18 June, UK’s stringency level is 73.15 (many restrictions). For comparison, New Zealand’s stringency level is 19.44 (few restrictions) and Cuba’s is 100 (many restrictions, including total stay at home confinement and all but essential workplace closing).

 

 

Local Resources:

Below are any local resources that would be relevant to Suffolk County Council and our partners.  

 

 

Title

Who For

Comments

 

Mobile Testing Units in Suffolk

Everyone

It is important that anyone with coronavirus symptoms gets tested. Mobile testing units are mobilised by the Ministry of Defence and regularly appear across Suffolk. Please share details of the testing sites with your local community – see under Where can I get tested in Suffolk?

 

Support from the Suffolk Growth Programme Board (SGPB)

Everyone

SGPB is a partnership of all Suffolk local authorities, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, University of Suffolk and New Anglia LEP. In Suffolk our Economy & business recovery work for COVID-19 is being led by SGPB and the website includes links to funding / surveys / economic impact work. Please do pass this information on to your contacts.

 

Suffolk Domestic Abuse 24/7 Helpline – Freephone 0800 977 5690

Everyone

The freephone number is live from 9am on Friday 22nd May 2020 for anyone with concerns including professionals who may be supporting clients as well as friends and family members who are concerned for loved ones.

 

New Anglia: Employment Opportunities in Key Sectors in Norfolk and Suffolk  

Individuals and Businesses wanting to know what employment opportunities are available in some of our key sectors

The New Anglia LEP – alongside other partners including local authorities – have pulled together lists and links to key employment roles needed now as part of the response to the current crisis.

 

Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership

Everyone

The website aims to help everyone understand the signs of neglect or abuse and what to do if they are worried about a child or an adult.

 

NEW ANGLIA GROWTH HUB

Businesses needing support

­

A one stop shop source of information for government support and guidance available to  businesses including 121 business advice sources of business grants and loans.

 

Healthy Suffolk: COVID-19 Emotional Wellbeing, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Information Hub

Everyone

This page contains links to a wealth of resources and support for your health and wellbeing.

 

Suffolk County Council: Coronavirus information

Everyone

Suffolk County Council coronavirus (COVID-19) information, including health advice, service changes, business support and schools guidance.

 

Keep Moving Suffolk

Everyone

The website contains free resources, ideas, tips, useful links and positive stories to encourage people to stay active during these unprecedented times.  The website and our social channels will be constantly updated.

 

Tests carried out in Suffolk w/c 22nd June

Site/Date

M

22-Jun

T

23-Jun

W

24-Jun

TH

25-Jun

F

26-Jun

SAT

27-Jun

SUN

28-Jun

Total

Daily

Average

TOTAL

% change since last week

Ipswich Regional Testing Site

(test capacity 1500/day)

197

148

145

237

197

115

80

1119

160

-12%

Total MTU Tests

(test capacity 400/unit/day)

74

66

71

42

68

68

11

400

57

+5%

Home test

10

22

19

7

21

7

23

109

16

-81%

Overall Total

281

236

235

286

286

190

114

1628

233

-27%

 

 

Global: WHO Situation Report – reports available here

 

Situation in Numbers WHO SitRep 163, 1 July