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:
Unpaid carers invited for vaccination
Unpaid carers are now being invited to receive their first COVID-19 vaccination, providing they:
- Are eligible for a carer’s allowance
- Are identified as a primary carer by their GP
- Are receiving support following a carer’s assessment by their local council or from a local carer’s organisation
- Are the sole or primary carer who provides close personal care or face to face support for an elderly or disabled person who is clinically vulnerable to COVID-19
Carers will be contacted in phases, starting with those carers already known to health and social care services. All eligible unpaid carers will be contacted by the NHS when it’s their turn to receive the vaccine and will be given information about how they should book their appointment. This will either be at a vaccination site in their local community supported by their GP practice, or at a large vaccination centre.
In some cases where caring responsibilities are shared, an additional person can be classed as a primary carer and receive a vaccination.
Every possible effort will be made to vaccinate eligible carers at the same time as the people they care for, such as when they accompany them for a vaccination.
If you are an unpaid carer and you are unsure if you are eligible, contact your local council or local carers organisation and they will advise you if you are able to receive your COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccines are the way out of this pandemic. By getting vaccinated unpaid carers can help protect themselves from becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, so they can continue to be there for their family, friends, and the people they care for.
For more information visit www.nhs.uk/covidvaccine. Government guidance on how unpaid carers in England, who care for a person vulnerable to COVID-19, can get vaccinated can be found here: Coronavirus » COVID-19 standard operating procedure – COVID-19 vaccine deployment programme: unpaid carers (JCVI priority cohort 6) (england.nhs.uk)
Please don’t feed the Quantock ponies
Since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic there has been an increase in people feeding the ponies on the open hilltops of the Quantocks. These ponies thrive on the grasses, heathers and plants on the hilltops and do not need extra food.
Some horses have special dietary considerations and can be intolerant to foods such as carrots and apples and cannot have too much sugar. Giving them “sweets and treats” can result in stomach ulcers, which are very painful, and colic which can kill them. Many fruit and vegetables may seem like “healthy” or “normal” horse treats, but they are not suitable for many horses including the ponies which graze the Quantocks.
As many of these ponies roam wild over the open hills people are unable to know how many “treats” they have been fed and people are making the mistake of saying “just one won’t hurt”.
Young people alerted to fake job scams
Trading Standards is warning young people to be wary of fake job adverts on social media that at first glance might appear to be the answer to their financial woes.
The pandemic has hit the pockets of many financially, but none more so than young people many of which are students who rely on jobs in the tourist and hospitality sectors. However, as a consequence of lockdown and jobs not being available, many are struggling to make ends meet.
Some fake job adverts on social media have the sole aim of harvesting personal details, which are later used to commit identity theft.