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

• Ofqual launches consultation on 2021 exams and assessments: Proposals for assessing general qualifications in 2021 include adaptations to free up teaching time, adaptations to allow for future public health safeguards, sampling of subject content and changes to the exam timetable. Also outlines the direction ahead for vocational and technical qualifications.
•  Treasury Direction made by the Chancellor under Sections 71 and 76 of the Coronavirus Act 2020: sets out that HMRC are responsible for the payment and management of amounts to be paid under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
• Regular retesting rolled out for care home staff and residents: Staff and residents in care homes for over 65s and those with dementia will receive regular coronavirus tests from next week as part of a new social care testing strategy.
• Self-isolation lifted for lower risk countries in time for holidays this summer: Passengers returning to or visiting England from certain destinations including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, will no longer need to self-isolate on arrival from 10 July 2020.
• Latest update from CMA COVID-19 taskforce: The Competition and Markets Authority has published a third update from its COVID-19 taskforce, which monitors and responds to competition and consumer problems arising from the pandemic.

 

Other COVID-19 related news

BBC UK:

• Public should ‘act responsibly’ as England’s lockdown is eased, says PM: Boris Johnson is to urge the public to “act responsibly” when lockdown is eased in England on Saturday.
• UK government plans to hold daily White House-style televised press briefings: A Downing Street source said the new format- similar to that used by the White House in the US – is expected to be brought in by October, taking place each weekday in the afternoon.
• Scotland’s five-mile travel limit lifted: The five-mile travel limit has been lifted and self-contained holiday accommodation can now reopen as virus restrictions in Scotland are eased.
• Lifting of Wales’ travel limits to get final go-ahead: Plans to lift Wales’ “stay local” travel restrictions on Monday will be confirmed by the first minister later.

 

BBC Health:

• Sense of smell and taste ‘improve for most’: Almost 90% of people who lost their sense of smell or taste while infected with Covid-19 improved or recovered within a month, a study has found.
• Many wait over 24 hours for test results: Four in 10 tests done by mobile units and three in 10 carried out at regional drive-thru centres were taking longer than 24 hours for test results, data up to 24 June reveals.

 

BBC Global Picture:

• Texas governor mandates wearing of face masks: Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered face coverings to be worn in public as coronavirus cases rocket in the state.

• 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: WHO mentalhealth.org.uk Ipswich & East CCG Living Life To The Full NHS Practitioner Wellbeing Samaritans	General public, staff and carers
6	Chronic disease self- care during COVID-19: Asthma Diabetes	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 22^nd 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

• WHO Covid-19 Dashboard for professionals using near real time data.
• GOARN COVID-19 Knowledge hub – central repository of quality public health information, guidance, tools and webinars which can be accessed freely at any point.

 

Situation in Numbers WHO SitRep 164, 2 July