Coronavirus
Coravirus Advice and Support
As a Town Council, we are working with Staffordshire County Council and all the other public agencies who provide services in Burntwood to ensure that local community gets the advice and support it needs to protect itself from the coronavirus pandemic. Please refer to the information and advice below which we are constantly updating.
For up to date information please go to https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
For support on services affected, business advice & support, advice for dealing with coronavirus, community support and lots more please go to https://www.lichfield.gov.uk/coronavirus
From 01 April FREE SYMPTOMATIC COVID-19 TESTING will continue for at-risk groups. 1. PATIENTS IN HOSPITAL where a PCR test is required for their care, to provide access to treatments, and to support ongoing clinical surveillance for new variants. 2. PEOPLE MOST AT-RISK FROM COVID-19 who are eligible for community Covid-19 treatments. People in this group will be contacted directly. 3. PEOPLE LIVING OR WORKING IN HIGH-RISK SETTINGS where infection needs to be indentified quickly to prevent outbreaks, or before being discharged from hospital into care homes and hospices. ASYMPTOMATIC LATERAL FLOW TESTING will also continue to be used to protect people during periods of higher prevalence in some high-risk settings, where infection can spread rapidly.
From 24 February in England, the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive Covid test has been removed. However, adults and children who test positive will continue to be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people.
From 11 February, eligible fully vaccinated travellers & under 18s will no longer need to take any tests on arrival in the UK. Travellers not recognised as fully vaccinated must show a negative pre-departure test and take a PCR post-arrival test.
From 00:01 27 January, all Plan B restrictions will be lifted in England. Please continue to be cautious by washing your hands, letting fresh air in, getting tested, self-isolating if positive and wearing a face covering in crowded and enclosed settings.
From 27 January in England, there is no longer a legal requirement to wear face coverings. Choosing to wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces can help to stop the spread of COVID-19.
From 27 January in England, there will no longer be a legal requirement to present your COVID PASS for nightclubs or large scale events. Some venues may still choose to run the COVID PASS voluntarily and request it.
Government is no longer asking people to work from home. If you are in the office, open windows to let fresh air in.
From 17 January 2022 people self-isolating with Covid-19 will have the option to reduce their isolation period after 5 full days if they test negative on both day 5 and day 6 and do not have a temperature. Individuals who are still positive on their rapid lateral flow tests must stay in isolation until they have had 2 consecutive negative tests taken on separate days.
From 11 January 2022 in England, if you get a positive lateral flow test result, you will no longer need to take a follow-up PCR test. You should still self-isolate immediately. This is a temporary measure while Covid 19 cases remain high. Some exceptions apply - if you are eligible for the Test and Trace Support Payment or you are participating in research or surveillance programmes you will still be asked to take a follow-up PCR if you receive a positive lateral flow test result.
Travelling to England
From 4am 09 January 2022 fully vaccinated adults and children over 5 must take a post-arrival lateral flow test.
From 4am 07 January 2022 fully vaccinated adults and under 18s don't need to take a pre-department test before entering England.
A PCR is only required if they test positive.
17 December 2021 If you’ve been told that you’ve been in close contact with someone who’s tested positive for Covid-19, here's what you should do
If you’re double vaccinated you should now take a rapid lateral flow test each day for 7 days
If you’ve had one vaccination or none you must self-isolate for 10 days.
For more information on testing go to nhs.uk/get-tested
From 15 December 2021
From Wednesday 15 December (subject to parliamentary approval) the NHS Covid Pass on the NHS App will become mandatory for entry into nightclubs and settings where large crowds gather, including:
- Unseated indoor venues with more than 500 people
- Unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people
- Any venue with more than 10,000 people.
From 13 December 2021
Office workers who can work from home should do so from Monday 13 December. Anyone who cannot work from home should continue to go into work - for example, to access equipment necessary for their role or where their role must be completed in person. In-person working will be necessary in some cases to continue the effective and accessible delivery of some public services and private industries. If you need to continue to go into work, consider taking lateral flow tests regularly to manage your own risk and the risk to others.
Employers should consider whether home working is appropriate for workers facing mental or physical health difficulties, or those with a particularly challenging home working environment.
For those who attend their workplace, the Government will continue to provide up-to-date Working Safely guidance on how employers can reduce the risks in their workplace. Businesses should consider this guidance when preparing their health and safety risk assessments, and put in place suitable mitigations
From 10 December 2021
From Friday 10 December the public, and staff in public facing areas, are required to wear face coverings in these additional settings:
- community centres (including village halls), youth centres, members clubs and social clubs
- libraries and public reading rooms
- polling stations and premises used for the counting of votes
- places of worship
- crematoria and burial ground chapels
- visitor attractions and entertainment venues (museums, galleries, cinemas, indoor theatres, concert halls, cultural and heritage sites, indoor areas at aquariums, zoos and visitor farms, bingo halls, snooker and pool halls, amusement arcades, adventure activity centres, indoor sports stadiums, funfairs, indoor theme parks, casinos, skating rinks, bowling alleys, indoor play areas including soft-play areas)
- public areas in hotels and hostels
- indoor areas of sports stadiums
The public, and staff in public facing areas, are also required to wear face coverings in these settings (this has been mandatory since 30 November):
- shops and supermarkets (places which offer goods or services for retail sale or hire)
- auction houses
- post offices, banks, building societies, high street solicitors and accountants, credit unions, short-term loan providers, savings clubs and money service businesses
- estate and letting agents
- premises providing personal care and beauty treatments (hair salons, barbers, nail salons, massage centres, tattoo and piercing parlours)
- pharmacies
- premises providing veterinary services
- retail galleries
- retail travel agents
- takeaways without space for consumption of food or drink on premises
- shopping centres (malls and indoor markets)
- public transport (aeroplanes, trains, trams, buses, coaches and ferries), taxis and private hire vehicles
- any car or small van during a professionally delivered driving lesson, a practical driving test, or during one of the practical tests for giving driving instruction, and in all HGV lessons and tests
- transport hubs (airports, rail and tram stations and terminals, maritime ports and terminals, bus and coach stations and terminals)
Symptoms of COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Typical symptoms are:
- a cough
- a high temperature (of 37.8 degrees Celsius or more)
- shortness of breath
But these symptoms do not necessarily mean you have the illness. The symptoms are similar to other illnesses that are much more common, such as cold and flu.