Sent on behalf of:

Abu Bah - Engagement Lead, Thamesmead Moorings

Khadijah Ahmed, Engagement Lead, Plumstead and Glyndon

Spresa Dibrani, Engagement Lead, Charlton

Rahman Famuditimi – Engagement Lead, Woolwich

We hope that you’re finding these weekly updates helpful. Some of the information included, around how to stay safe, where to get tested, and the support available, will be similar every week. However, each update will also include a different ‘hot topic’ which will be relevant to the current situation, plus an updated statistic for the local Greenwich area. 

 As before, we would really like to encourage you to share the following​ information through:

1. friends or family who live in your area
2. local networks
3. neighbour or community groups you may be members of
4. with people who you come into regular contact with through your work or local groups

If you haven’t already, it would be really helpful if you could take a couple of minutes to fill out this survey, which allows us to understand how widely this Community Update is being used, and whether it is reaching everyone it needs to. Click here to access the short survey.

KEY MESSAGES 23/02/2021

 

Yesterday, the Government laid out its plan for restrictions easing for the next few months. For more details please read on below. However, for now, the national lockdown is still in place across the country. Please remember to stay at home as much as possible so restrictions can safely and slowly be lifted.

 

It has never been more important to take every measure we can to fight the virus. Everyone needs to stay at home, except for essential activities. If you do need to leave home: Wear a mask. Make space. Wash your hands.

 

You can read all the details about Lockdown on the official website here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

 

Yesterday, the Government laid out their plans for restrictions easing over the next few months:

Not before 8 March - All schools will open with outdoor after-school sports and activities allowed. Recreation in a public space - such as a park - will be allowed between two people, meaning you and one other would be allowed to sit down for a coffee, drink or picnic.

Not before 29 March - Outdoor gatherings of either six people or two households will be allowed. Outdoor sports facilities such as tennis or basketball courts will reopen and organised adult and children's sport, such as grassroots football, will also return

Not before 12 April - non essential retail, hair salons, indoor gyms and pools, and pubs and restaurants, outdoors only, can open.

More restrictions are planned to be eased over time, but these dates are not final, and all depend on the vaccine rollout going as planned and vaccines reducing hospitalisations and deaths.

Although this is a positive step, it’s still very important to follow the guidelines. If we don’t, cases may rise again, and strict lockdown rules may come back into place. Wear a mask. Make space. Wash your hands.

 

More than 17.5 million people have been vaccinated against coronavirus in the country, almost 400,000 of those in Greenwich.

Both the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines have been through rigorous tests and do not contain human cells, animal extracts or egg. Vaccination is a safe and effective way to prevent disease and save lives, and doesn’t just protect ourselves, but also those around us. This is called herd immunity.

We understand that some people have questions about the vaccine, and we want to do everything we can to answer these and let you make an informed decision.

You can find the answers to lots of frequently answered questions on the local NHS website, as well as videos in various different languages explaining why it’s important to get the vaccine when you are offered it.

We have also attached a table which contains the different vaccines and their side effects. Please remember that you do not have a choice which vaccine you get, and all vaccines are extremely effective.

For more information, please visit the NHS SEL CCG website.

 

Small Grants of up to £500 and Large Grants of up to £2,000 are available for individuals and groups to deliver health projects in the Woolwich Common Ward, Thamesmead Moorings, Plumstead & Glyndon, and Charlton areas. 

Local residents will decide which ideas are funded through online (lockdown compliant) Community Voting Days, based on the principle of Participatory Budgeting. These are a community style ‘Dragons Den’.

This process is administered by Public Health, Royal Borough of Greenwich. To find out more contact Gayle Wallace who is supporting this work on 078144 22696 or email gayle.wallace@btconnect.com

 

Most people experience grief when they lose someone important to them. It affects everyone differently. There's no right or wrong way to feel.

You may be finding it particularly difficult at the moment because of the changes in place to try to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Changes have been made to several services, including end of life and palliative care, as well as funeral arrangements.

You may feel that you need some extra help and support during this time. There are local places that can help, such as Greenwich Cruse Bereavement Centre, Greenwich and Bexley Hospice as well as national helplines such as Samaritans and Sudden. 

Live Well Greenwich has lots of helpful links that can hopefully help you during this difficult time.

 

1 in 3 people have coronavirus without knowing, so to reduce the spread, you can now get tested whether you have symptoms or not. The more people that get tested, the more we can prevent the spread of this virus.

Rapid test
If you don’t have symptoms, you can get a rapid test. Anyone can get one of these. If you have to leave your home regularly, it’s recommended you get a rapid test 2-3 times a week. It only takes 5 mins and results are emailed to you in 30 mins. Visit www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/rapidtest to book.

Test if you have symptoms
If you have coronavirus symptoms (fever, new continuous cough or a loss of sense of smell or taste), no matter how mild, get a test. These tests can only be taken if you have symptoms and it takes a bit longer for you to get the results – usually a few days.

Booking is essential. Order a home test kit if you cannot get to a test site. Go to gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test, or call 119.

Please see below for information on where you can get both types of coronavirus tests in the borough:

Testing is NOT available at the Emergency Department at the hospital or at your GP practice, so please do not attend here trying to get a test. 

If your test result is positive, you and your household will need to stay at home and self-isolate for 10 days. (This has changed from 14 days). This is important to stop the virus spreading and to keep your community safe.

This can be stressful and worrying when you need to go to work. If you are unable to claim sick-pay from your employer and are a low income household, a one-off £500 payment may be available from the Government to support you and your family during these 10 days. Find out if you are eligible to apply for this payment or call 0800 470 4831.

If you’re interested in helping your community through volunteering, a short training is available to introduce and prepare volunteers for the role of Neighbourhood Champion. This is an opportunity to learn, ask questions, share information and practice.

For more information, please email victoria.smith@royalgreenwich.gov.uk. 

If you think it would be helpful to share these messages via WhatsApp or text message, we have a shorter version available for this purpose. If you would like this, please let us know your mobile number and we can share this with you for you to forward on – please email robin.clarke@royalgreenwich.gov.uk directly with this information.