Home Local News COVID – 19 Update 2/7/20

COVID – 19 Update 2/7/20

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Red Rose Lancashire

SkemNews received the following message from County Councillor John Fillis. We have shared the message below: 

Outbreak control plan
We have published our outbreak control plan for Lancashire. This sets out in detail how we will respond to outbreaks of coronavirus in the county. It relates specifically to the county council footprint, but we are closely aligned with our other upper-tier colleagues and are working effectively and collaboratively.

It must be remembered that at time of publishing councils do not have the authority to lock down areas and the information we receive from government is after the event. The police are also awaiting clarity regarding their legal powers in the case of a localised outbreak.

It is a technical document aimed at practitioners, so I thought it would be helpful to summarise our approach. The plan sets out how we’ll prevent and manage any increase in local cases, with an emphasis on high-risk environments such as care homes, schools and other workplaces. Our priorities are to prevent the spread of the virus, protect people and respond when there’s an increase in local cases.

The plan includes details of how we will support local businesses and vulnerable people in preventing them from being affected in the first place. It also sets out how we will be increasing people’s understanding of the risks and how we can all protect ourselves and make businesses Covid-secure.

If two or more cases are reported in a particular place within 14 days of each other, a careful and timely assessment will be made to implement immediate actions to prevent further spread. This will include tracing the source of the infection to disrupt the ongoing transmission.

By finding out quickly and effectively about cases, we can provide information and support to people, helping them to stay safe and protect themselves, their family and friends.

People who are asked to stay at home and ‘self-isolate’ will be offered support if they need it for shopping, accessing health care, getting medication and other help.

I am confident this plan provides us with a clear way forward to managing coronavirus cases in the weeks and months to come, as we continue to adapt to living with the virus until we have a cure or a vaccine.

Lockdown easing
As the weekend approaches, we are taking a balanced view on the further easing of lockdown restrictions. As we move forward as a county, it is vital that our economy reopens and that people can start to enjoy everything Lancashire has to offer. This will benefit not just our economy as a whole, but also individual businesses and workers, particularly those in our hospitality sector. It is also of benefit to wider citizens for their mental and physical health.

So it is important to support the easing, but also to encourage everyone to act responsibly. As this week’s Lancashire Covid-19 summary shows, we are continuing to go in the right direction, but the events in Leicester show that the country as a whole remains in a precarious position. No one wants what has happened in Leicester to happen here, which is why we must use every opportunity to reenforce the social distance message.

The police are concerned about local disorder over the weekend as we have already seen in different parts of the county. The police are in a difficult position, but will continue to take the approach of engaging, explaining, encouraging and, where necessary, enforcing. They will be sharing messages on social media in the coming days and it would be helpful if you could help get their messages out by sharing on your channels. Please also report any issues you become aware of to your local policing contact.

Redefining Lancashire
The Conservative Administration at Lancashire alongside Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen Councils, the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and have been working with Deloitte on a plan about how Lancashire can play a vital role in the rebuilding of the UK’s economy.

It particularly focuses on the need to reopen towns, attractions, countryside and destinations, support industry to restart, stimulate business growth and align the workforce to the jobs that will be created.

This is the start of a conversation with Government and further work will be done to understand the impact on businesses, workers and places as well as look at accelerating capital infrastructure projects to generate new jobs in the near future with the help of the Government.

The Conservative Administrations plan has been published and submitted to the Prime Minister for his consideration, without any real consultation with local council, businesses or the public.

Free school meals
You will have seen that the government has announced its intention to provide all benefits related free school meal eligible pupils with summer food vouchers. I wanted to provide you with some additional information which may help you if you are asked questions by parents and carers.

This funding is in addition to the national voucher scheme and is intended to enable children who are eligible for benefits related free school meals to claim vouchers to the value of £90 for the six-week holiday period. Where a school’s summer holiday lasts seven full weeks, schools can increase the voucher amount per child from £90 to £105.

Any child currently in receipt of benefits related free school meals or who becomes eligible during the summer term is eligible for this funding. Schools should continue to accept and verify free school meal applications up until the end of the summer term.

Parents and carers will receive the summer food vouchers in the same way they currently receive free school meals vouchers. They can be redeemed at the same supermarkets as the current vouchers, providing continuity for parents and carers.

The vouchers will provide eligible parents and carers with additional benefit over the summer holidays and will help to alleviate some of the financial pressures that many families are facing as a result of the pandemic.

The eligibility criteria for free schools meals can be found on our website for free school meals.

Waste and recycling centres
I am ending this update with some good news about our waste and recycling centres. The phased process which has seen 15 of our 16 waste and recycling centres open on an appointment basis has been really successful. So much so, that from next week we are able to lift some of the restrictions that are in place.

People will be able to visit in their car without booking an appointment from Monday 6 July.

From Friday 10 July people will again be able to use vans and trailers to carry their waste, although they will have to book an appointment before visiting. The booking system for vans and trailers will go live on Monday 6 July.

A number of further restrictions on using the sites will remain in place for all visitors, and residents are urged to check them before visiting.

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