Suffolk County Council – Covid-19 daily bulletin – 3rd July

Help us call time on coronavirus this weekend. Keep Social Distancing, Stick With It Suffolk. (there is an image of a hand bell)

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 9:45 pm on 2 July, 283,757 people** have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, of those, 43,995 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:

 

 

**The methodology for reporting positive cases changed on 2 July 2020 to remove duplicates within and across pillars 1 and 2, to ensure that a person who tests positive is only counted once. Due to this change, and a revision of historical data in pillar 1, the cumulative total for positive cases is 30,302 lower than if you added the daily figure to yesterday’s total.

  

COVID-19 related news from GOV.UK

 

Other COVID-19 related news

BBC UK:

 

BBC Health:

 

BBC Global Picture:

  • Live world updates:
    • The governor of Texas has ordered face coverings to be worn in public as virus cases rocket.
    • With 53,000 new cases recorded on Thursday, the US set a new one-day record for new infections.
    • The mayor of Belgrade in Serbia is expected to declare a state of emergency because of a rise in cases.
    • Sweden has ordered a review of emergency supplies after its defence research agency found a number of shortcomings in its response to the pandemic.
    • The EU is also expected to approve the use of anti-viral drug Remdesivir for treating Covid-19 patients aged over 12.
    • Globally there are 10.8m virus cases and there have been more than 520,000 deaths.

Suffolk

 

Life after lockdown: Join the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce for a free webinar ‘Life after lockdown: what businesses need to know’  to help prepare businesses for the ‘new normal’. They will be joined by experts in all fields sharing their knowledge and top tips! Find out more about this webinar and others offered by the chamber here

 

Clap your hands this NHS birthday weekend: It’s the 72nd birthday of the NHS this weekend – and people across Suffolk are invited to join in the national ‘thank you’ celebrations – aimed at thanking not only NHS and other key workers but all those who have volunteered or helped keep services and community networks working well. On Saturday evening (July 4) everyone is asked to put a light in their window as a mark of remembrance to those who have died from coronavirus. On Sunday (July 5) at 5 p.m. people of all ages are encouraged to stop what they are doing and join with others (following appropriate social distancing) in their street or neighbourhood for a mass applause event, and afterwards raise a glass with their neighbours. If you’re shielding or prefer to remain indoors you could stand by a window or you could even join an online group for a virtual applause session. For more information click here

 

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

Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak

Professionals

What all schools will need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak from the start of the autumn term.

NEW

The Health Service and Social Care Workers (Scrutiny of Coronavirus-related Deaths) Directions 2020

Professionals

Directions to NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts in England to ensure the scrutiny of deaths of health service and adult social care staff from coronavirus (COVID-19).

NEW

Maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors to support NHS Test and Trace

 

Organisations in certain sectors should collect details and maintain records of staff, customers and visitors on their premises to support NHS Test and Trace.

Relevant sectors include:

  • hospitality, including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés
  • tourism and leisure, including hotels, museums, cinemas, zoos and theme parks
  • close contact services, including hairdressers, barbershops and tailors
  • facilities provided by local authorities, including town halls and civic centres for events, community centres, libraries and children’s centres
  • places of worship, including use for events and other community activities

UPDATED

What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

Parents and carers

Added guidance for parents and carers about early years providers, schools and colleges in the autumn term.

UPDATED

NHS test and trace statistics (England): methodology

Professionals

Updates have been made throughout the methodology document, including new sections added: ‘People tested compared to tests’ and ‘Time taken to receive a COVID-19 test result’.

UPDATED

Higher education: reopening buildings and campuses

Professionals

Updates on social distancing, demographic, library, social gathering, performing arts and student accommodation guidance.

UPDATED

Awarding qualifications in summer 2020

Professionals

Summer 2020 grades for GCSE, AS and A level, Extended Project Qualification and Advanced Extension Award in maths: Guidance for teachers, students, parents and carers document updated to reflect autumn 2020 consultation decision outcomes and 2021 exam series consultation proposals.

 

 

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 164, 2 July