Loading images...

Coronavirus update from Somerset County Council – 24/02

Posted on 24th February, 2021 in News

All our help and information 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.

Public Health dashboard: Detailed Public Health information dashboards are available on our website www.somerset.gov.uk/coronavirus just scroll down to ‘Covid-19 dashboard’. These are updated daily.

Top stories today:

Schools to return from 8 March as roadmap on lockdown easing published

The new roadmap out of the current lockdown has been published: COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021

It sets out how the government will begin to lift restrictions in England from 8 March, starting with schools and colleges.

It outlines four steps for easing restrictions. Before taking each step, the government will review the latest data on the impact of the previous step against the following four tests:

  • The vaccine deployment programme continues successfully.
  • Evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated.
  • Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS.
  • The government’s assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new Variants of Concern.

The four steps for easing restrictions are:

  • Step 1 – 8 March the priority is to ensure that all children and students return safely to face-to-face education in schools and colleges from 8 March.
  • Step 2 –no earlier than 12 April, will see the opening of non-essential retail; personal care premises such as hairdressers and nail salons; and public buildings, including libraries and community centres.
  • Step 3 –no earlier than 17 May, the Government will look to continue easing limits on seeing friends and family wherever possible, allowing people to decide on the appropriate level of risk for their circumstances.
  • Step 4 –no earlier than 21 June, the Government hopes to be in a position to remove all legal limits on social contact. Before Step 4 begins, the Government will complete a review of social distancing and other long-term measures that have been put in place to cut transmission.

Team effort to keep food support strong in pandemic

Somerset County Council has paid tribute to the partners who have helped make sure emergency food support has been readily available to anyone in Somerset who needs it throughout the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Set up at the start of the pandemic, the Somerset Food Resilience Taskforce has worked to identify the people in need of food support, ensure there is more than enough emergency food available to meet demand, and make sure that food can be safely distributed where it is needed.

In less than a year the Taskforce has grown to include 36 community food groups and has distributed more than 270,000 items of food to individuals and families across Somerset.

Read more

Opportunity opens for digital volunteers

Want to volunteer but feel like your options are limited due to lockdown?
Somerset County Council’s Digital Customer Volunteers initiative provides an opportunity for volunteers to help the Council provide better services, without having to leave home.

Volunteers have played a crucial part in providing support to Somerset’s communities over the past year and helping each other is more important than ever.

Those who sign up to become Digital Customer Volunteers will help Somerset County Council to develop better online services and improve the lives of Somerset residents.

Read more

Chat to Connect service launched

Smart Communities part of the CCS (Community Council for Somerset) group has launched a ‘Chat to Connect’ service for clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) adults in Somerset.

From today they are reaching out to anyone on the CEV list in Somerset. COVID has been exceptionally hard for those who are shielded from society.

Do you want to meet new people in a similar position to you, with shared interests? It’s good to talk and share experiences. CCS can connect you with another person who is on the CEV list to keep your spirits up – you are not alone.

Read more