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:
Travelling to school safely
With schools returning to face to face learning from Monday 8 March, this guidance will help to make sure Somerset pupils can travel to and from school safely:
- If you live a short distance from your school or college, walk, cycle or scoot to and from school wherever it is possible and safe to do so
- Avoid sharing a car with anyone outside your household or support bubble
- If you are using public transport to get to school or college, plan ahead and allow more time for your journey
- When you are travelling by public or dedicated school transport, don’t forget to:
- Wear a face covering (unless you are exempt, including if you are aged 11 and under). It is important you wear them for the entirety of your journey, including inside a bus or railway station
- Socially distance where possible
- Wash or sanitise your hands regularly
- Be considerate to fellow passengers and staff.
Further information can be found below.
Advice for office-based businesses
You will have seen news coverage about outbreaks in factories, but we are also seeing outbreaks in office-based businesses such as accountants, solicitors and estate agents.
It’s important to remember that working from home where you can is the best protection. If you do need to be in the office working with others, stick to the hands, face and space rules as much as possible, but be aware that even by following those rules, if there is someone in a poorly ventilated office who is asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, they may very easily be able to pass the virus onto others.
Spending several hours in an office with someone who is carrying the virus, even using face-coverings and two metre distancing, is a significant risk, as viral particles will build up in the air. That is why it is crucially important to ventilate the office, ideally continuously, but if not by regularly opening windows to freshen the air. So, make sure you dress warmly for work and ventilate, ventilate, ventilate!
Keep the fresh air flowing at home
It’s important to keep your home well ventilated – and to make sure there’s a fresh air flow in vehicles. Here are some tips:
Ventilation in your home:
- Opening windows and doors at home is the simplest way of improving ventilation for most people.
- Opening windows and doors at opposite sides of your room or home will provide a good flow of fresh air.
- If someone is self-isolating, keep a window slightly open in their room and keep the door closed to reduce the spread of contaminated air to other parts of the household.
- If you have people working in or visiting your home let as much fresh air into your home as possible without getting uncomfortably cold while they are there, and for a short period before they arrive and after they have left.
- Keep the temperature in the room you are in to at least 18ºC as temperatures below this can affect your health, especially if you are 65 or older, or if you have a long-term health condition.
Ventilation in vehicles:
- Switch ventilation systems on while people are in the vehicle. Make sure you set to drawing fresh air in, not recirculating air.
- Windows can be opened (partially if it’s cold).
- Heating can be left on to keep the vehicle warm.