At yesterday’s Governments daily briefing, the Prime Minister announced that the Governments five tests to be able to ease lockdown further have now been met and set out the next stages of easing out of lockdown.
Further Easing of Lockdown
Six people will be able to meet outside under new measures to ease lockdown as from Monday 1st June, providing social distancing guidelines are followed.
Outdoor Markets and car showrooms will reopen on the 1st June.
Schools can reopen on the 1st June for reception, year one and year six, if the school believes it is safe to do so and all the safety measures have been put in place. Many schools will not be able or ready to introduce the necessary safety measures at this time though.
On 15 June, secondary schools, sixth forms and colleges will begin to provide some face-to-face contact time for Year 10 and 12 and the equivalent groups in further education.
For the full guidance of the new measure visit:
Dentists
Dentists will be able to reopen from the 8th June, providing stringent safety measures have been put in place.
NHS England’s chief dental officer Sara Hurley said: “Today, we are asking that all dental practices commence opening from Monday, June 8 for all face-to-face care, where practices assess that they have the necessary Integrated Personal Commissioning (IPC) and Personal Protective Equipment PPE requirements in place.
Dental practices will have to also ensure limiting the number of people in the waiting room, ensuring chairs are a safe distance apart. Plastic shields will have to be installed to separate staff and patients. Staff will have to be tested regularly for coronavirus.
PPE will be the biggest concern following the debacle in the NHS and Care homes with many dental employees already raising concerns. Dental practices will not be able to deliver a full range of services without all the necessary PPE.
Fixed Penalty Notices
The Government will investigate fines given to people travelling for childcare reasons during the lockdown. The Government announced this after Matt Hancock, the health secretary, was caught flat-footed by a vicar. The Rev Martin Poole, a Church of England vicar, said he challenged Hancock at the Downing Street press briefing. Rev Poole said he felt compelled to expose the inequality the Dominic Cummings case revealed. In a surprise move Hancock said he would ask the Treasury about the penalty notices, which were £60 and later rose to £100. It is not known how many fines the Government gave to families travelling for childcare reasons. The attempts from the Prime Minister to defend the indefensible actions of his most senior adviser are descending in to chaos. The Government’s actions have made it difficult to police vital public health guidance, as this flip-flop over fines shows. The reality is, it’s one rule for the most powerful people in Government and another for the rest of us, which is dangerous.
Test and Trace
Whilst I am pleased to see the nations Test and Trace service launch today, the government have acted too slow in getting the scheme up and running and it’s further disappointing that the track and trace app is not ready.
The process is as follows:
Anybody displaying symptoms must self-isolate immediately (along with the rest of their household) and get a test. Everybody, including the under 5s, are now eligible for testing.
If an individual tests positive, NHS contact tracers will ask them to provide the details of everybody they have been near.
NHS contact tracers will contact those people and ask them to self-isolate for 14 days. This is voluntary at first but may become mandatory.
The NHS needs a strong degree of public cooperation.
The NHS is rolling out a contact tracing app in coming weeks to support this.
You can find out more details here on Test and Trace.
Non-Essential Retail
The government has said the following non-essential retailers can re-open from 15 June.
Food retailers
Chemists
Hardware/homeware stores
Fashion shops
Charity shops
Betting shops and arcades
Tailors, dress fitters and fashion designers
Car dealerships
Auction houses
Antique stores
Retail art galleries
Photography studios
Gift shops and retail spaces in theatres, museums, libraries, heritage sites and tourism sites
Mobile phone stores
Indoor and outdoor markets
Craft fairs
Similar types of retail
Leeds City Council’s Strategy
Leeds City Council are working hard to progress. LCC are confident that we are in a strong position with our current arrangements and public health expertise. Leeds is playing a role nationally to work out the best way to put in place these changes. The Government has asked All upper tier local authorities to develop local outbreak plans in June, centered on these 7 themes:
Planning for local outbreaks in care homes and schools
Identifying and planning how to manage other high-risk places
Identifying methods for local testing to ensure a swift response that is accessible to the entire population
Assessing local and regional contact tracing and infection control capability in complex settings.
Integrating national and local data and scenario planning from the new Joint Biosecurity Centre.
Supporting vulnerable people to get help to self-isolate
Establishing governance structures led by existing Covid-19 Health Protection Boards
‘Ask Alex’
Join me tomorrow on Facebook Live at 2pm, where I will be discussing the latest information on Coronavirus, including the easing of the lockdown and answering any related questions you may have.
Follow my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AlexSobelForLeedsNorthWest/ to participate and keep up to date with my activities both at home and in Parliament.