Current UK Risk Level: HIGH

The risk to the UK has been raised to high (as of 13/03/2020).

As of 13 Mar, UK is in the ‘delay’ phase of the government’s action plan to limit the spread of the virus.

 

Current UK Situation

• As of 9am on 19^th April, 372,967 people have been tested of which 120,067 tested positive. As of 5pm on 18 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 16,060 have sadly died. Full details and latest numbers are available here.
• In Suffolk we have 618 confirmed cases. However, with routine community testing discontinued, these figures will not describe the full extent of cases locally. You can view the latest UK dashboard of cases by local authority here.
• Government’s daily press conference (19 April 2020) – transcript here
  • Before the government can give a clear date for when schools will re-open, five criteria must be met:

• • 1. The NHS must be able to cope with critical and specialist treat in hospitals across the UK
    2. The daily death rates from coronavirus must coming down.
    3. There must be reliable data that shows the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels.
    4. There must be confidence that testing capacity and PPE are being managed, with supply able to meet not just today’s demand, but future demand.
    5. Confidence that any changes made will not risk a second peak of infections.

• • Some of the leading state schools have collaborated to open The Oak National Academy, which will launch on the 20 April. This is a new initiative, led by 40 teachers who have assembled video lessons and resources for any teacher in the country to make use of if they wish to do so.
  • Disadvantaged children across England are set to receive laptops and tablets as part of a push to make remote education accessible
  • Press conference slides with the latest data from COBR coronavirus fact file (transport use, new cases, hospital admissions, deaths) and datasets available here.
  • View past press conferences on YouTube.
• Olympics chief brought in to boost PPE production Lord Deighton will lead the national effort to produce essential personal protective equipment for frontline health and social care staff.
• Letter to local authorities to work with faith groups and funeral directors to develop safe, sensitive and innovative ways for funerals to take place
• Government sets out plans to ensure bereaved families can attend funerals during pandemic
• Coronavirus (COVID-19): letter from the Secretary of State to the local government workforce The letter thanks the local government workforce for their help during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Government pledges extra £1.6 billion for councils– Councils across England will receive another £1.6 billion in additional funding as they continue to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
• UKG provides extra £50M to tackle Coronavirus in Northern Ireland
• National testing coordinator warns against unapproved antibody tests Statement from Professor John Newton, national coordinator of the UK coronavirus (COVID-19) testing programme, warning against the purchase of unapproved antibody testing kits.
• Procurement Policy Note 02/20: Supplier relief due to COVID-19
• Government to extend testing for coronavirus to more frontline workers
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing: privacy information Privacy notice on COVID-19 virus testing for critical workers and their household members who are self-isolating because they’re showing symptoms.

Suffolk

 

Ipswich Testing Centre: As part of its national COVID-19 testing programme, the Government is creating a ‘Drive Thru’ testing facility on the outskirts of Ipswich. At this point, testing is only available to symptomatic NHS staff and public sector key workers, and members of their household. This facility is not for members of the public and those that are able to attend (NHS staff and public sector key workers) must only do so following a referral from their employee. Based on the existing Park and Ride site at Copdock Mill, off the A12 and A14 Junction, the facility will offer those key workers from the eastern region the opportunity to get tested so that they can be supported to report to work as soon as is practicable. This is one of up to 50 sites being created around the country, it is a Government-led programme, supported by the Suffolk Resilience Forum and partners in Essex.

 

PPE Update: Stock levels in the Suffolk PPE Cell are good and are meeting demand. SCC received 134 requests from residential care homes across Suffolk which have all be fulfilled. Work is also taking place with the Clinical Commissioning Groups to manage PPE for hospices, resources will be shared to cover this need. The new national Clipper delivery system is expected to be online in 4 weeks, this is the service that will support non NHS service areas (residential care, primary care etc). In the meantime work is being done to understand the demand levels and impact upon stock levels. The cell continues to support organisations such as Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, funeral directors, district and boroughs etc and excellent support is being provided from the military in stock management and logistics.

 

Schools: The government have updated their School guidance with information on support for parents, online resources and vulnerable children. For more information click here

 

Job Retention Scheme: The Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme went live today, with businesses able to claim up to £2,500 a month towards staff wages. For more information click here

 

Useful Websites (any new guidance is in RED)

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	Coronavirus (COVID-19): SEND risk assessment guidance	special schools, specialist colleges, local authorities and any other settings managing CYP with SEND	Risk assessment guidance for settings managing children and young people with an education, health and care (EHC) plan during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
NEW	Coronavirus (COVID-19): local death management	local authorities in England on Schedule 28 to the Coronavirus Act	Schedule 28 to the Coronavirus Act 2020 introduced new powers for local authorities and government to support the resilience of local death management systems, and step in if they become overwhelmed.
NEW	Guidance for consumers on coronavirus (COVID-19) and food	Consumers	Advice for consumers in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the UK.
UPDATED	Supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus outbreak	education settings and local authorities about children supported through social care, with EHC plans or identified as vulnerable by their school or local authority	Clarifications to the existing guidance including the actions to be taken for each group around their attendance or otherwise at an education setting. We have not changed the groups included in the definition of vulnerable children.
UPDATED	Coronavirus (COVID-19): social care guidance	social care	UPDATED-How to work safely in Care Homes   This is a new homepage for all the main guidance for social care, including: – Coronavirus (COVID-19): admission and care of people in care homes – COVID-19: guidance for supported living and home care – COVID-19: ethical framework for adult social care – Coronavirus (COVID-19): changes to the Care Act 2014 – Coronavirus (COVID-19): hospital discharge service requirements – Coronavirus (COVID-19): providing unpaid care –  â€˜How to work safely in care homes’
UPDATED	Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for schools and other educational settings	staff, parents and carers, pupils and students.	Added ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): SEND risk assessment guidance’.
UPDATED	Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak	What schools need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak	Updated information on online resources and remote learning, workforce, and vulnerable children.
UPDATED	Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance	Main collection of guidance for anyone in any setting – 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	Added COVID-19: guidance for managing a funeral during the coronavirus pandemic.   Added ‘How to work safely in care homes’
1	NHS – COVID-19 go-to page	General Public – this is the only site we should be promoting to the public for information
2	GOV.UK – COVID-19 homepage	Main cover webpage for all government guidance for public & professionals alike
3	Full guidance on staying at home and away from others	Everyone	The single most important action we can all take, in fighting coronavirus, is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives.
4	Coronavirus outbreak FAQs: what you can and can’t do	Everyone
5	Coronavirus: How to help safely	Everyone
6	Coronavirus (COVID-19) information leaflet	UK households
7	COVID-19 essential travel guidance	Public
8	Mental health support and advice from: WHO mentalhealth.org.uk Ipswich & East CCG Living Life To The Full NHS Practitioner Wellbeing Samaritans	General public, staff and carers
9	Chronic disease self- care during COVID-19: Asthma Diabetes	General public
10	Children’s Commissioner: Children’s guide to coronavirus	children	Aimed at children: – Answer your questions about coronavirus – Tell you how to stay safe and protect other people – Help you make the best of your time at home Information correct as of 27 March 2020
11	Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for children’s social care services	local authorities and their partners
12	Coronavirus (COVID-19): transport and travel guidance	everyone using transport or working in the transport sector during the coronavirus outbreak.	Information for people using transport or working in the transport sector during the coronavirus outbreak, including: -Using public transport -Driving private vehicles – cars, vans, motorbikes -Bus and lorry drivers -Freight, bus and road transport businesses -Transport workers -Maritime and shipping -Aviation and flying -Overseas travel
13	Coronavirus (COVID-19): personal protective equipment (PPE) hub	health and social care and other non-health sectors	Collection of guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE), and infection prevention and control (IPC). We are currently experiencing sustained transmission of COVID-19 across the UK.
14	Coronavirus (COVID-19): looking after people who lack mental capacity	health and social care	Emergency guidance for health and social care staff who are caring for, or treating, a person who lacks the relevant mental capacity. During the outbreak, the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the safeguards provided by the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) still apply.
15	Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested	critical workers who are self-isolating
16	Coronavirus (COVID-19): early years and childcare closures
17	Coronavirus (COVID-19): adult social care action plan	adult social care (includes people’s own homes, residential care homes and nursing homes, and other community setting)	This document sets out the government’s plan for: 1. controlling the spread of infection in care settings 2. supporting the workforce 3. supporting independence, supporting people at the end of their lives, and responding to individual needs 4. supporting local authorities and the providers of care
18	COVID-19: guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable	All adults and children who should be shielded and their family, friends, and carers

 

 

Local Resources:

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

 

	Title	Who For	Comments
NEW	NEW ANGLIA GROWTH HUB	Advice and Guidance for 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.

 

 

Global: WHO Situation Report – reports available here

• WHO RISK ASSESSMENT (Global Level) – Very High
• WHO Covid-19 Dashboard for professionals using near real time data.
• The number of confirmed cases reported by countries reflects national laboratory testing capacity and strategy, thus the interpretation of the number of cases reported should take this into account.
• Drinking alcohol does not protect you against COVID-19: existing rules and regulations to protect health and reduce harm caused by alcohol such as restricting access, should be upheld and even reinforced during the outbreak. More on this is available here, and a factsheet on Alcohol and COVID-19 is available here.

 

Situation in Numbers WHO SitRep 90, 19 April (new since last 24hrs)

Location	Confirmed	Deaths
Globally	2 241 778 confirmed (81 572)	152 551 deaths (6463)
European Region	1 122 189 confirmed (35 300)	100 938 deaths (3737)
Regions of the Americas	821 860 confirmed (37 589)	38 258 deaths (2516)
Western Pacific Region	131 115 confirmed (1859)	5621 deaths (23)
Eastern Mediterranean Region	124 691 confirmed (4008)	5908 deaths (124)
South-East Asia	27 319 confirmed (2028)	1185 deaths (51)
African Region	13 892 confirmed (788)	550 deaths (27)