Covid-19 Latest Guidance

Common symptoms of COVID-19 include:

• A new and continuous cough
• A high temperature
• A loss of, or change in, the sense of taste or smell

If you have any of these symptoms, please self-isolate for at least 10 days.

If you live with others they must self-isolate for 21 days

For more information on self-isolating please visit the NHS website below.

Wash your hands more often, and for at least 20 seconds using soap and water, particularly when you handle food, get to work, or arrive home.

Cover your mouth with a disposable tissue or if one is not available, the crook of your elbow, and wash your hands.

Make sure to wear a face-covering when in shops or on public transport. When in public remain 2 meters apart if possible.

If you have received a letter saying you are clinically extremely vulnerable you should follow the following advice:

Stay at home as much as possible. You can go out to exercise and for essential medical appointments. You should try to keep away from others and avoid busy areas.

You should work from home if possible. Your employer should assist you with this. If you cannot work from home you are advised not to work. You can use the letter as proof you’re unable to work.

If you are unable to work you may be eligible for financial aid.

A support bubble is a close support network between a household with only one adult or a household with one adult and one or more people who were under the age of 18 on 12 June 2020 in the home (known as a single-adult household)and one other household of any size.

This is called making a ‘support bubble’. Once you’re in a support bubble, you can think of yourself as being in a single household with people from the other household. It means you can have close contact with that household as if they were members of your own household.

Once you make a support bubble, you cannot change who is in your bubble.

Visit the website below for further information on if you can make a support bubble and how it works.

NHS Test and Trace ensures that anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19 can quickly be tested to find out if they have the virus, and also includes targeted testing of NHS and social care staff and care home residents and helps trace recent contacts of anyone who tests positive for coronavirus and, if necessary, notifies them that they must self-isolate at home to help stop the spread of the virus.

If you develop symptoms, you must continue to follow the rules to self-isolate with other members of your household and get a test to find out if you have coronavirus.

if you test positive for coronavirus, you must share information about your recent contacts through NHS Test and Trace to help us alert other people who may need to self-isolate.

if you have had close recent contact with someone who has COVID, you must self-isolate if NHS Test and Trace advises you to do so.

Check your employment and benefits rights. You may be worried about work and money so check with your employer about sick pay and benefits.

Let services know you are staying at home and continue accessing treatment and support for any existing physical or mental health problems where possible.

Maintaining healthy relationships with people you trust is important for your mental wellbeing. Think about ways to stay in touch with friends and family

It’s normal to feel a bit worried, scared or helpless about the current situation. Remember: it is OK to share your concerns with others you trust – and doing so may help them too.

Look after your body – times like these, it can be easy to fall into unhealthy patterns of behaviour that end up making you feel worse.