All our help and information for 20/05/2020 is now available in a single place on the SCC website https://www.somerset.gov.uk/coronavirus/covid-19-latest-advice/
This page is refreshed through the day so please check in regularly to keep across developments and news.
Top stories today:
Bereavement support service is launching
Somerset County Council has commissioned two leading charities to provide bereavement support for people in Somerset in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Somerset Bereavement Support Service will be delivered in partnership by end-of-life charity Marie Curie and mental health charity Mind in Somerset.
In the first instance, for those over 18, telephone support calls will be provided by Marie Curie Companions, specially trained volunteers who can offer emotional support to bereaved people or support in some cases pre-bereavement. The service can also provide support to professionals in Somerset dealing with bereavement in their work setting.
Where further support is needed, the Marie Curie Companion volunteers will carefully link people to specialist Mind in Somerset bereavement support workers who will deliver up to six bereavement counselling sessions. This service is available to adults and children over 12 years.
If you or someone you know, is affected by grief or bereavement, and would like to talk to someone, please call the Somerset Bereavement Support Service call 0800 3047 412 (Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm). A special bereavement pack has also been developed to support the service and give practical and emotional advice to people.
New online portal available for coronavirus testing
Coronavirus is still circulating in Somerset so it is vital that people stay alert and self-isolate – with their household – if they develop symptoms. The Government recently added a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste as a symptom. Therefore, the main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are now:
High temperature – you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
New, continuous cough – you’re coughing a lot for more than an hour, (or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours)
Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – you’ve noticed that you can’t smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different from normal.
Most people with coronavirus (COVID-19) have at least one of these symptoms.
For advice about what to do if you have any of these symptoms, ring 111, or use the 111 online coronavirus (COVID-19) service.
If you have the symptoms and you want to get tested, go through the new NHS portal to arrange a test.
Tune in to our BBC Somerset wellbeing show tonight
Listen in to our wellbeing show on BBC Somerset Charlie Taylor’s show between 7-8pm this evening and join in a live exercise session.
Jo from Somerset Activity Sports Partnership will talk through the benefits of keeping active including its effects on mood, sleep and mental health and how simple exercise can help add structure to the day and lift our spirits. The frequencies to tune in are 95.5FM, 1566AM, DAB, or listen at www.bbc.co.uk/bbcsomerset and on the BBC Sounds app.
One-day-later waste collections after Spring Bank Holiday
Waste collections after the Spring Bank Holiday on Monday 25 May will all be one day later. The week’s day changes, from Monday pick-ups on Tuesday to Friday’s on Saturday 30 May, will affect recycling, rubbish and garden waste. There will also be no bulky waste collections or waste container deliveries on Bank Holiday Monday.
On Bank Holiday Monday, 10 recycling sites will be open 9am-6pm: Bridgwater, Chard, Frome, Highbridge, Street, Taunton, Wellington, Wells, Williton andYeovil. And another five sites are expected to open from Tuesday 26 May: Castle Cary, Cheddar, Crewkerne, Minehead and Somerton. Dulverton will be closed on Bank Holiday Monday as it returns to its normal weekend only opening pattern from this weekend.
Statutory Sick Pay scheme
The UK Government’s Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme will launch online on 26th May. Businesses with fewer than 250 employees, can find out how you can prepare here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-back-statutory-sick-pay-paid-to-employees-due-to-coronavirus-covid-19?