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 âdelayâ phase of the governmentâs action plan to limit the spread of the virus.
Current UK Situation
- As of 9am on 28 April, 599,339 people have been tested, of whom 161,145 have tested positive. As of 5pm on 27 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 21,678 have died. Full details and latest numbers are available here.
- In Suffolk we have 987 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.
- Governmentâs daily press conference (28 April 2020) â formal transcript not available, informal transcript available here
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- From 29 April, published death numbers will include not just the number of deaths in hospital, but the number of deaths in care homes and in the community too.
- Daily testing capacity now stands at 73,400 (goal is 100,000 tests a day)
- In care homes, where itâs clinically appropriate, medicines that have been labelled for use by one patient can be used by another patient who needs them instead of being destroyed. This is already standard procedure in hospitals.
- 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
- Further expansion of access to coronavirus testing – anyone in England with coronavirus symptoms who either has to leave home to go to work or is aged 65 and over will now be able to get tested.
- Government confirms allocations of £1.6 billion funding boost for councils
- Update on tax policy documents – HM Treasury and HMRC set out new timelines for tax policy consultations and other work.
- COVID-19 treatments could be fast-tracked through new national clinical trial initiative – This will accelerate the development of new drugs for patients hospitalised with COVID-19, reducing the time taken to set up clinical studies for new therapies from months to weeks.
- NHS warning to seek help for cancer symptoms as half of public report concerns with getting checked.
- BBC: A contact-tracing app might be two or three weeks away.
- BBC: France’s authorities have set out how they plan to exit lockdown from 11 May, including making face masks compulsory on public transport and in secondary schools (pupils aged 11-15).
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is closely monitoring COVID-19 pandemic, providing risk assessments, public health guidance, and advice on response activities to EU Member States and the EU Commission. Contains wealth of information from an European perspective.
Suffolk
SEND update: The April edition of the special educational needs parent, carer update is a special update providing support and information for parents and carers during the Coronavirus COVID-19 crisis. To read the update visit; https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/advice.page?id=0JhoHQXC8cc
Suffolk Learning Disability Partnership Response: The Suffolk Learning Disability Partnership have set up a no-reply WhatsApp group to share information during the COVID-19 pandemic. They will be sharing useful information, accessible information and resources and updates that may be useful for people with a learning disability, their families, carers and support. For more information click here
School Travel: With the majority of children being educated at home this is a challenging time for parents and carers however we still need them to opt-in for SCC funded School Travel if their child is eligible. Parents must opt in by 31 May 2020 to receive travel for the start of the 2020/2021 school term. If their child already received funded travel you still need to opt in every year. For more information visit; http://suffolkonboard.com/optin
Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership Column: Anthony Douglas, Independent Chair of the Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership has written about the work of the Suffolk Safeguarding partnership during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the article he talks about the added risk that some adults and children experience from being behind closed doors and what everyone can do to play their part in keeping Suffolkâs residents safe from harm. To read the article click here
LGBT+ Domestic Abuse helpline: Galop UK are an LGBT+ anti-violence charity who provide Hate Crime, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence support services to LGBT+ victims/survivors by telephone, email, text. Through the Covid-19 pandemic they are continuing to provide emotional and practical support for LGBT+ people experiencing domestic abuse. To find our more visit; www.galop.org.uk/domesticabuse/
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.
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Title |
Who For |
Comments |
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NEW |
Coronavirus (COVID-19): reuse of medicines in a care home or hospice |
care homes and hospices |
Standard operating procedure on how to run a safe and effective medicines reuse scheme in a care home or hospice during the coronavirus outbreak. |
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NEW |
Everyone |
This report compares Suffolk to the average of All English county local authorities and all English single tier and county councils using daily data on the number of hospital cases of COVID-19 in the area. |
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UPDATED |
COVID-19: guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection |
households with possible infection |
Added guidance for households with grandparents, parents and children living together where someone is at increased risk or has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. |
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UPDATED |
Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for schools and other educational settings |
staff, parents and carers, pupils and students. |
Added âUse of free early education entitlements funding during the coronavirus outbreakâ. Updated guidance on bank holidays, Early Years Foundation Stage, recruitment and workforce. |
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1 |
General Public â this is the main site we should be promoting to the public for information |
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2 |
Main cover webpage for all government guidance for public & professionals alike |
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3 |
Main collection of guidance for anyone in any setting |
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4 |
Everyone |
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5 |
Everyone |
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6 |
Everyone |
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7 |
Mental health support and advice from: |
General public, staff and carers |
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8 |
Chronic disease self- care during COVID-19: |
General public |
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9 |
critical workers who are self-isolating |
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10 |
Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for children’s social care services |
local authorities and their partners |
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11 |
social care |
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12 |
bereaved families, friends or next of kin |
Information to help bereaved families, friends or next of kin make important decisions. |
Local Resources:
Below are any local resources that would be relevant to Suffolk County Council and our partners.
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Title |
Who For |
Comments |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Everyone |
This page contains links to a wealth of resources and support for your health and wellbeing. |
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Everyone |
Suffolk County Council coronavirus (COVID-19) information, including health advice, service changes, business support and schools guidance. |
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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. |
Global: WHO Situation Report â 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.
- The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) has launched a GOARN COVID-19 Knowledge hub. The hub is designed as a central repository of quality public health information, guidance, tools and webinars which can be accessed freely at any point.
- WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros, in his regular media briefing yesterday, highlighted âAs lockdowns in Europe ease with declining numbers of new cases, we continue to urge countries to find, isolate, test and treat all cases of COVID-19 and trace every contact, to ensure these declining trends continueâ.
Situation in Numbers WHO SitRep 99, 28 April (new since last 24hrs)
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Location |
Confirmed |
Deaths |
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Globally |
2 954 222 confirmed (76 026) |
202 597 deaths (3932) |
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European Region |
1 386 693 confirmed (27 313) |
126 429 deaths (1904) |
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Regions of the Americas |
1 179 607 confirmed (39 087) |
60 211 deaths (1722) |
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Eastern Mediterranean Region |
171 238 confirmed (5305) |
7148 deaths (157) |
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Western Pacific Region |
145 385 confirmed (1264) |
5998 deaths (40) |
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South-East Asia |
48 348 confirmed (2288) |
1917 deaths (93) |
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African Region |
22 239 confirmed (769) |
881 deaths (16) |