Hampshire County Council: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Edition 39

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Category: Coronavirus COVID-19

Last Updated on Friday, 01 May 2020 15:40

Published on Friday, 01 May 2020 15:40

Written by Parish Clerk

Government press conference - Wednesday 29 April

The press conference was chaired by the First Secretary of State, Dominic Raab.

The Government noted the published death toll incorporated deaths in all settings, including for the first-time deaths in care homes and in the wider community. The flow of people in and out of care homes was highlighted as an ongoing challenge and risk. The Government will continue to focus on disseminating and refining their guidance to support those working in the sector.

An update was provided on current testing capacity, which had exceeded 73,000 per day, and the development of tracking and tracing capability, as well as the international effort to source personal protective equipment and repatriate Britons abroad. The UK will provide the international alliance, GAVI, with £330 million each year for five years to support development of a vaccine.

The slides and datasets from the conference are available to view online.

As of 29 April, the total number of lab-confirmed cases was 165, 221. The daily number of lab-confirmed cases was 4,076. The total number of COVID-19 associated deaths was 26,097, with the number of new deaths reported standing at 765. The data is available to view online.

National context

Town and Parish Councils

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, has written to all who serve on Parish and Town Councils thanking them for their work during the pandemic.

Testing

The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that a new programme of home testing for coronavirus will track the progress of the infection across England. The programme forms part of Pillar 4 of the government’s COVID-19 testing strategy, to conduct UK-wide surveillance to learn more about the spread of the disease and inform the development of new tests and treatments.

Funding for Fire and Rescue authorities

The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has issued a written statement about the additional coronavirus funding which was recently allocated. The statement confirms that the Home Office will launch a £6 million Fire Covid-19 Contingency Fund specifically to support fire and rescue authorities who incur significant costs as a result of additional duties.

Accessing food and essential supplies

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has issued new guidance on how to obtain food and other essential supplies during the coronavirus pandemic. There is specific advice for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable, self-isolating and those shopping for others.

NHS response

The Chief Executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, and the Chief Operating Officer, Amanda Pritchard, have written to health networks on the second stage of the NHS’ response to COVID-19, which we are now entering. The letter was copied to local authority chief executives, directors of adult social care and chairs of local resilience forums. The letter asks NHS local systems to step up non-Covid19 urgent services, and to consider undertaking some routine non-urgent elective care, where there is capacity.

Support for people unable to return to the UK

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued guidance on the medical and health support available for British people who are unable to return home due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, they have published guidance on the financial support available.

Vaccine

The UK will provide GAVI the international vaccine alliance with the equivalent of £330 million each year over the next five years as they seek to develop a vaccine. This will both protect British people, and help immunise millions of the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world, which will help to reduce the risk of future waves.

GoodSAM app

GoodSAM is the platform for the on boarding and deployment of Volunteers for the NHS in partnership with the Royal Voluntary Service. Councillors are now able to make requests for help on behalf of their vulnerable residents. Any councillors wishing to make a request will need to use their gov.uk email address.

Community radio

The Government has announced that the £400,000 Community Radio Fund administered by Ofcom will be used to provide a lifeline for radio stations affected by the coronavirus. Relevant stations will be invited to bid for emergency grants through Ofcom to help meet their core costs.

Visa extensions

The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has announced that free visa extensions will be automatically granted to an expanded group of overseas health and care workers. Frontline workers, including midwives, radiographers, social workers and pharmacists, with visas due to expire before 1 October will receive an automatic one-year extension.

Summer exams

Ofqual has issued further guidance for Heads of Centre on making assessment judgements about private candidates.

Destroying spoilt beer and wine

HMRC has updated the guidance on destroying spoilt beer, cider, wine or made-wine during coronavirus. Normally the destruction of alcohol must be supervised by a responsible person from the brewery, cider producer or winery.

Criminal justice system

HM Courts & Tribunals Service is starting to use new video technology to support remote hearings in criminal courts, the first phase of the new platform is to be rolled out to more than 100 courts.

Local context

School attendance

Schools, early years educators and nurseries in Hampshire remain open to look after children of key workers and vulnerable children. The number of children in education settings fluctuates daily. However, yesterday (29 April) 5661 children attended schools, which equates to 3.1% of the student population. Of the children in Hampshire who are open to social care, 19.8% were in school last week (w/e 24 April). Intelligence shows that the number of key worker and vulnerable children attending schools in Hampshire remains consistently above the national rate.

Hampshire Music Service

In recognition of Captain Tom Moore’s ‘Walk for the NHS’ and to mark his 100^th birthday, county choir members, singers and instrumentalists from Hampshire County Council’s Music Service have produced a musical tribute – with each contributor recording their part, individually, at home. ‘Happy Birthday Captain Tom’ by Hampshire Music Service, in which 84 musicians and singers participated, can be viewed on the Hampshire Music Service Facebook page.

Clap for key workers

The nation will come together again at 8pm this evening as part of the Clap for Our Carers campaign to recognise the efforts of frontline carers and NHS workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The County Council will share a short animation recognising and appreciating the hard work of all key workers across the Authority. We will also promote a mini broadcast on social media from the Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, Councillor Rob Humby.

Scam awareness

Hampshire Constabulary has issued advice to Hampshire residents about some of the most common scams to be aware of during the coronavirus pandemic. A poster is available to download which could be promoted on social media or displayed in communities.

Business South

Business South’s Workforce South Action Group is promoting flexible working advice to engage furloughed staff and remote workers. A free, online guide to remote working, is also available to download here.

Hampshire County Council coronavirus update

Hampshire County Council has produced an infographic which highlights the total number of residents supported in different ways throughout the pandemic. The infographic will be shared on social media to raise awareness of breadth of work carried out by our essential workers.