Importance: High

 

Current UK Risk Level: HIGH

The risk to the UK remains high (as of 13/03/2020).

As of week commencing 11/05/2020, we’re moving into Phase two (Smarter controls) of the Government’s recovery strategy. As per PM’s 11 May message, the country is in the process of moving from Level 4 to Level 3 by the new COVID Alert System and taking the first step in relaxing lockdown measures – According to the PM’s statement “Thanks to the hard work and sacrifices of the British people in this lockdown, we have helped to bring the R level down and we are now in a position to begin moving to Level 3, in steps”.

 

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

 

 

Current UK Situation

• As of 9am on 4 June, 281,661 people have tested positive. As of 5pm on 3 June, of those tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, across all settings, 39,904 have died. 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	350	254.5 per 100,000 resident
East Suffolk	619	249.3 per 100,000 resident
Mid Suffolk	181	176.6 per 100,000 resident
Babergh	151	165.2 per 100,000 resident
West Suffolk	229	128.0 per 100,000 resident
Suffolk	1,530	201.7 per 100,000 resident

• Transport Secretary’s statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 4 June 2020

o   Face coverings will be required on public transport from 15 June 2020. This will mean you can be refused travel if you don’t comply and could be fined. That doesn’t mean surgical masks, which we must keep for clinical settings. It means the kind of face covering you can easily make at home (instructions here). Exceptions to the rule for very young children, disabled people and those with breathing difficulties. With more people using transport, the evidence suggests that wearing a face covering offers some – albeit limited – protection against the spread of the virus. Social distancing and hand washing remain by far the most important disease prevention measures. Further details here.

o   The secretary also updated on active and alternatives to public transport.

o   Testing data. The number of tests carried out or posted out in the UK has risen past 5 million for the first time, to 5,005,565. This includes a record 220,057 tests carried out or posted out yesterday.

o   Hospital data. There are now 7,312 people in hospital with coronavirus in the UK, down 15% from 8,558 a week ago and down from a peak of 20,699 on 12 April. 604 coronavirus patients are in mechanical ventilation beds in the UK, down from 783 a week ago, and down from a peak of 3,301 on 12 April.

o   Daily deaths. When measured by a 7-day rolling average, the daily number of deaths currently stands at 241, down from a peak of 943 on 14 April.

o   Archive of slides, datasets and transcripts to accompany coronavirus press conferences available here.

• Next steps for work on COVID-19 disparities announced – Following the release of the Public Health England review into disparities in the risks and outcomes of COVID-19 (full report), the Government’s Equality Hub set out how this work will be taken forward, including review of current actions and further research and analysis to clarify the scale, and drivers, of the gaps in evidence highlighted by the Report.
• BBC: Widen rules on where face coverings must be used, say UK doctors – British Medical Association council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “These important measures should not be restricted to public transport but [apply] to all areas where social distancing is not always possible. The risk will be much less if the public adopts this now, not mid-June.”
• BBC: NHS contact-tracing app in place by end of month, says minister – The NHS app was originally planned to be part of last week’s launch of England’s test and trace scheme – but the app roll-out was delayed because more trials were needed.
• BBC: ‘Tens of thousands’ of heart procedures delayed by pandemic – The postponement of tens of thousands of hospital procedures is putting the lives of people with long-term heart conditions at risk, according to the British Heart Foundation.
• Fullfact.org: How to spot a coronavirus Test and Trace scammer – You will only ever be called from the number 0300 013 5000, or you will be texted from “NHS”. If you do not feel comfortable talking on the phone, or suspect the call to be a scam, you can ask for an email or a text that will invite you to use the Test and Trace web site instead. Amongst fraud signs, a real contact tracers will never ask you for details of card or bank account numbers, social media login details, set up a pin or ask you to download anything. You should only be asked for the information found on the contact tracing website (this will include your full name, date of birth, and details of any symptoms you may have).
• Bloomberg: Man Behind Sweden’s Controversial Virus Strategy Admits Mistakes – Sweden’s top epidemiologist has admitted his strategy to fight Covid-19 resulted in too many deaths, after persuading his country to avoid a strict lockdown.

 

Suffolk

 

Volunteers Week: Watch Leader of the council, Councillor Matthew Hicks and colleagues from the Suffolk Resilience Forum thank the county’s amazing volunteers for being so generous with their time and thinking of others. Click here to view the video

 

Free business support: New Anglia Growth Hub’s business advisers are offering free support and guidance. They can help businesses find out more about the latest Government schemes and a range of local initiatives. Speak to them for impartial advice on 0300 333 6536 or email growthhub@newanglia.co.uk  Businesses can also make use of the Covid-19 Business Toolkit , where you will find information about funding, free online webinars and all the latest advice.

 

Online campaign to help promote job vacancies: COVID-19 has prompted a raft of job opportunities as businesses respond to the crisis. Click here to visit the New Anglia LEP Employment Opportunities page to see the latest vacancies. 

SEND Parent Carer Update: Read the latest SEND Parent Carer Update which includes lots of information about what SCC is doing to implement Suffolk’s SEND Strategy and what support is available during the Coronavirus COVID-19 crisis. Click here to read

 

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	Analysis of death registrations not associated with coronavirus (COVID-19), England and Wales: January 2020 to May 2020	Professionals	This release presents findings to understand the apparent increase in deaths compared to the previous five-year average for deaths in the same weeks. Initial hypothesis include: undiagnosed COVID-19, delay in care, changes to death  registration processes implemented in the Coronavirus Act 2020 that have led to an increased number of death registrations made by doctors.
UPDATED	COVID-19: number of outbreaks in care homes – management information	Care home management	Added latest data (weekly 25 May-31 May, cumulative 9 Mar-31 May). Up to 31 May: – England: 6,225 outbreaks in care homes (40.1% of all care homes) – East of England: 743 outbreaks in care homes  (43.1% of all care homes) – Suffolk: 112 outbreaks in care homes (59.6%) – Babergh: 13 outbreaks (46.4%) – East Suffolk: 48 outbreak (60%) – Ipswich: 17 outbreaks (70.8%) – Mid Suffolk: 14 outbreaks (70%) – West Suffolk: 20 outbreaks (55.6%) Any individual care home will only be included in the dataset once. If a care home has reported more than one outbreak, only the first is included in this dataset.
UPDATED	Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain: 5 June 2020	Professionals	Main points include: – A similar proportion of people in Great Britain have left their home this week. – The most common reasons for leaving home across Great Britain this week were: essential shopping, exercise, work and running errands; however, leaving to meet with others in a public place continued to increase this week, and the largest increase compared with last week was for those travelling to and from work. – 4 in 10 adults in employment (40%) said they had left their home to travel to and from work in the past seven days, up from 36% last week. – Over 4 in 10 adults (41%) said they felt safe or very safe when outside of their home this week, compared with 33% last week. – Almost 3 in 10 adults (28%) reported that they had used face coverings outside of their home in the past week, a similar proportion to last week (29%); – For those it was applicable to, almost 2 in 3 parents (63%) in England felt either very or quite unconfident in sending their children back to school in June.
UPDATED	National COVID-19 surveillance reports		Added week 23 report and infographic, which includes cumulative data 30 Jan – 3 June: – case, testing, and death numbers – outbreaks by setting (care homes main source) – number of cases and deaths by age and gender – epidemic curve (showing we’re past the peak) – ethnicity of confirmed cases and deaths At a national level, most COVID-19 surveillance indicators continued to decline or remained at similar levels to the previous week.
UPDATED	Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for schools and other educational settings	staff, parents and carers, pupils and students.	Updated the planning guide for primary schools to reflect the announcement by the Prime Minister about the decision, based on all the evidence, to move forward with wider opening of education and childcare settings. We have also added links in the primary schools guide, to the planning guide for early years settings, and the updated attendance reporting guidance.
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	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
5	Chronic disease self- care during COVID-19: Asthma Diabetes	General public
6	European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) COVID-19 homepage	Professionals

 

 

 

Local Resources:

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

 

	Title	Who For	Comments
	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.

 

 

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.
• 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 136, 4 June