Corona Virus Bulletin
1. Borough specific updates
• From 4 January, Reigate & Banstead and the rest of England are in national lockdown. Guidance can be found here: National lockdown: Stay at Home – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Any changes are being reviewed and considered by central government continually
• The single most important action we can all take is to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives.
• You should follow this guidance immediately. The law will be updated to reflect these new rules.
• Surrey’s data dashboard shows which areas have highest rates across Surrey and compares these to England
• Rate per 100,000 people (Last 7 days, up to 31/12/2020). Borough = 725.4 (Surrey = 670.8, England = 539.4)
• Coronavirus update page for Reigate & Banstead
• Click here for information on Coronavirus testing and Surrey’s local outbreak plan
2. Latest national updates on guidance
• As of 28 Dec 2020, 2,654,779 people have tested positive in the UK with 75,024 deaths. Full data here
• The National lockdown: Stay at Home – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) guidance has full details of what you can and can’t do as of 4 January… If you’re short on time, here’s a summary of the lockdown guidance;
3 Leaving home
· You must not leave or be outside of your home except where necessary.
· You may leave the home to:shop for basic necessities, for you or a vulnerable person go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home exercise with your household (or support bubble) or one other person, this should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area
· meet your support bubble or childcare bubble where necessary, but only if you are legally permitted to form one seek medical assistance or avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse)
· attend education or childcare – for those eligible Colleges, primary and secondary schools will remain open only for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers. All other children will learn remotely until February half term. Early Years settings remain open.
· Higher Education provision will remain online until mid-February for all except future critical worker courses.
· If you do leave home for a permitted reason, you should always stay local in the village, town, or part of the city where you live. You may leave your local area for a legally permitted reason, such as for work.
· If you are clinically extremely vulnerable you should only go out for medical appointments, exercise or if it is essential. You should not attend work
· You cannot leave your home to meet socially with anyone you do not live with or are not in a support bubble with (if you are legally permitted to form one).
· You may exercise on your own, with one other person, or with your household or support bubble.
· You should not meet other people you do not live with, or have formed a support bubble with, unless for a permitted reason.
· Stay 2 metres apart from anyone not in your household.
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· 4. Working safely during COVID
· National lockdown: Stay at Home – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) – going to work
· See information here for NHS Test and Trace at work e.g. if you or employees are contacted, incl. financial support. Updated: 15 Dec 2020
· Make your workplace COVID-secure – see here for 14 guides for different types of work. Updated 1 January – please share in forums and newsletters
· Find out if your business is eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough). Updated 23 Dec
5. The Vaccine
Vaccination is underway and facts about its safety are here
•The vaccines approved for use in the UK have been developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca. The vaccine takes a few weeks to work so people must keep Hands, Face, Space, even after the second jab
The NHS will let you know when it’s your turn – please stay patient and do not contact them to ask
Currently, it is being offered first to people most at risk, and you will get your turn ASAP:
People who live or work in care homes;
Health care workers at high risk
• Vaccination is already taking place at some hospitals, GPs and community venues such is Epsom Race Course
• Local volunteer ushers and admin staff are needed in Surrey – to volunteer please email syheartlandsccg.shcwf@nhs.net
• The COVID-19 vaccine is given as an injection into your upper arm. It’s given as 2 doses.
• So far, thousands of people have been given a COVID-19 vaccine and reports of serious side effects, such as allergic reactions, have been very rare. No long-term complications have been reported. Most side effects are mild and last less than a week, examples are tiredness, headache or a sore arm where the needle went in – if symptoms get worse, call 111. See here for answers to frequently asked questions
6. Ways to help ourselves and others – Reducing Alcohol Consumption
Many people many have found themselves drinking more alcohol than normal as a coping strategy for handling the stresses of the pandemic. The holiday season is also a time when many of us over-indulge in food alcohol. Perhaps it’s your New Year’s Resolution to cut down on alcohol? To minimise health risks, both men and women are advised not to regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week.
The short-term risks of alcohol misuse include vulnerability to violence or crime, while accidents, injuries and alcohol poisoning can put further pressure on our already stretched hospitals and GPs. The long-term risks include depression, heart disease and many types of cancer, and we all know that one of the best protections against COVID-19 is maintaining a healthy mind and body.
A unit of alcohol is less than many people think:
– Half a pint of lager, beer or cider (ABV 3.6%)
– A single shot (25ml) of spirits (ABV 40%)
– A small 125ml glass of wine (ABV 12%) contains about 1.5 units(!)
The idea is to spread the units over a few days and to also have some alcohol-free days. There is plenty of advice and information at Healthy Surrey like the Drink Coach test to check your drinking habits. If you have concerns about your own or someone else’s alcohol consumption:
Surrey Drug and Alcohol Care (SDAC) has a 24/7 confidential helpline – freephone 0808 802 5000
iCare Drug and Alcohol Service is still taking referrals and offering telehealth appointments
LAPTOP APPEAL
You will have seen from the above that local schools will be shut for at least some period of time with children expected to work from home. Plainly children of families which do not already have IT equipment or access to the internet are at an enormous disadvantage in being able to continue with their studies and to interact with their teachers. R&B Council has launched an appeal for residents to hand in any working laptops that they no longer need which are running Windows 7, 8 or 10 (no MAC PC’s yet). A special software tool developed by Hewlett Packard will be used to permanently delete any user data that is still present on any of the donated systems. A team including volunteers from Fidelity UK has been upgrading the 40 + laptops that have already been donated utilising a centre set up by the Council as well as some home working. Unfortunately the latest moves to Tier 4 and Tier 5 has caused this activity to be put on temporary hold. However, I am telling you about it now so that you can consider whether a laptop your family might otherwise have thrown away, e.g. after getting a more modern one for Christmas, might be suitable for this important programme.
If you do have potential laptop candidates for refurbishment please contact me (Mike Fox) on 01737 350452 or by replying to this bulletin and I will advise you whether it might be suitable for inclusion so that you can put it to one side until we can collect it or advise you of a local drop off point for it. For further details of the project and the schools hoping to benefit please visit here
Neighbourhood Watch Bulletin
Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after a collision between a car and a pedestrian and his dog.
The incident happened at around 4.40pm on December 30th at the junction of B2032 Dorking Road and Chapel Road, in Tadworth.
The pedestrian was taken to hospital with head injuries and the driver of a black VW Polo is helping the Police with their enquiries.
There were no reported burglaries in our local area between Dec 17th and the end of the year.
Mike Fox
Community Support & Neighbourhood Watch, Tadworth & Walton
01737 350452