Posted on Wednesday 1st July 2020
Communities across Staffordshire are being urged to continue to follow the advice on COVID-19 – as the country marks 100 days since the start of lockdown today. (Wednesday)
With lockdown lifting even further from Saturday, Staffordshire County Council has plans in place to swiftly identify, contain and stop any local outbreaks across the county.
Alan White, Staffordshire County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Health, Care and Wellbeing, said: “As part of our COVID-19 Local Control Plan, we are monitoring cases on a daily basis to ensure we are in a position to mobilise efforts to identify any outbreaks and do everything we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“Throughout this pandemic, Staffordshire has pulled together like never before and our efforts can’t stop now. We are making it clear to people that if they want to protect themselves, their families and their communities they need to stick to the rules. This is not the time to let our guard down.”
The key advice is to:
- Wash your hands regularly
- Keep your distance. That’s 2m where possible and if you can’t, 1m plus where extra safety measures in pubs etc are in place when they reopen
- If you have symptoms self-isolate for 7 days and book a test
- If you are contacted by the NHS Test and Trace Service because you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, you must self-isolate for 14 days, whether you have symptoms or not. Look out for the call from 0300 013 5000
Alan added: “While everyone is looking forward to lockdown easing this weekend we must not become complacent. The risks to our communities and to our local economies are still very much there and we must all do everything we can to stop a second peak of infections.”
Like all lead local authorities, Staffordshire County Council has developed a COVID-19 Local Outbreak Control Plan, which will see it work with Public Health England, the NHS and District and Borough Councils to manage any outbreaks.
Key areas of focus will include: Schools, care settings, local businesses, community settings and hard to reach communities such as the homeless.
Measures include real-time mapping of cases as part of the Test and Trace Service to allow the County Council to identify any clusters or outbreaks (two or more cases) in a setting to allow early intervention and management.
The delivery of the plan is being overseen by a Councillor-led COVID-19 Board.