- Spelthorne specific updates
• In the last 7 days there have been 889 positive cases; This is an 46% increase from last week. Current rate is highest in Surrey. Rates across Surrey are now very high in all Boroughs.
• Spelthorne currently has the highest positivity in Surrey – almost one in four tests carried out are positive.
• Spelthorne and the rest of England are in National Lockdown: Stay at Home https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home
• Stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives
• The key message is that you must not leave or be outside of your home
except where you have a ‘reasonable excuse’. This is now law. The police can take action against you if you leave home without a ‘reasonable excuse’, and issue you with a fine (Fixed Penalty Notice).
• Parks, playgrounds, cemeteries and public toilets will remain open. However, outdoor sports courts, tennis courts and outdoor gyms are now closed
• Local testing – there will be a local Mobile Testing Unit at Green Street Car
Park, Sunbury Park on 4-10 January. No vehicle access to park will be
available during this time. Book a free test online; www.gov.uk/getcoronavirus-test or call 119
- Latest national updates on guidance
• As of 4 Jan 2020, 2,774, 479 people have tested positive in the UK with
76,303 deaths. Full data here https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
• Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000 – more details here –https://www.gov.uk/government/news/46-billion-in-new-lockdown-grants-to-support-businesses-and-protect-jobs
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 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-a-support-bubble-with-another-householdor childcare bubble https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-a-childcare-bubble-with-another-household 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
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. - 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 https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/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 ( https://drinkcoach.org.uk/alcohol-test) 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) https://www.healthysurrey.org.uk/drugs-and-alcoholfile:///C:/Users/spelthorne/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/Y0JUBMUT/COVID%20Champions%20Briefing%20-%20Thursday%207%20January.pdf has a 24/7 confidential helpline –
freephone 0808 802 5000
• iCare Drug and Alcohol Service https://www.surreydrugandalcohol.com/about-us/i-access-coronavirus-update is still taking referrals and offering telehealth appointments
- The vaccine
• Covid 19 Vaccination https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA2uH-BRCCARIsAEeef3mbAAYepO63TKutB6QEUKLoVo2ItU1-XEF6sjgmqhnIVZ0ytQKUjMMaAhe1EALw_wcB is underway; the NHS will let you know when it’s your turn – please stay patient and do not contact them to ask!
• Spelthorne Council is working closely with the NHS to support the vaccination programme and have been actively offering some central sites in our Borough to be utilised which will remain available should the NHS need them.
• Currently there are two community vaccination sites in North West Surrey that are operational, one at Chertsey Hall and the other at McLaren Offices in Woking as well as a ‘roving service’ that launched last week in which GPs will take the vaccine out to nursing homes and this service will build up as more supplies of the vaccines are received.
• In addition to the above, a hospital hub at Royal Surrey Hospital is open
offering vaccines to inpatients and outpatients over the age of 80 years,
health and care staff and further vaccination sites are planned at The Hythe Centre in Staines and Walton and at Epsom racecourse.
• Please be assured that more clinics will be opening in the coming weeks as more vaccine supplies become available.
• Local volunteer ushers and admin staff are needed – email syheartlandsccg.shcwf@nhs.net
• Most side effects are mild and last less than a week. If symptoms get worse, call 111. See answers to frequently asked questions https://www.surreyheartlandsccg.nhs.uk/your-health/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-vaccination-programme
• 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 App
• app it so we can stop spreading it! We all have our part to play to
KeepSurreySafe. Make sure you’re doing your bit by downloading the app.
Get it here: https://covid19.nhs.uk/
