GOV UPDATE – 11th JAN 2021

HOWARD, DR HENRIETTA, DAVID

WELL GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE 

DAY 5 OF THE LOCKDOWN 

ALL ST MARY’S RESULTS HAVE COME BACK – OVER 90 TESTS – ALL NEGATIVE 

BUT REMEMBER – A TEST IS ONLY A SNAPSHOT OF A MOMENT IN TIME 

CLOSE CONTACTS WILL NEED TO ISOLATE UNTIL WE ARE SURE THERE IS NO RISK 

THANKS TO THE HEADTEACHER

NUMBERS 

👀 

DR H FOR AN UPDATE ON CASES AND CONTACT TRACING 

ST MARY’S KID – 90 HIGH-RISK CONTACTS ALL TESTED NEGATIVE SO FAR. THEY WILL HAVE FURTHER TESTS BUT STAY IN SELF ISOLATION

ADULT FROM LAST WEEK – ONE COLLEAGUE FROM A WORK SETTING HAS TESTED POSITIVE AND IS NOW IN ISOLATION. SOME ONWARD TESTING PLANNED 

ANOTHER CASE FROM LAST WEEK HAS A CONTACT WHO TESTED POSITIVE ON DAY 7, BUT THEY’RE NOT IN THE COMMUNITY 

SAT EVENING THERE WAS A POSITIVE AND THERE WERE A NUMBER OF HIGH-RISK CONTACTS – A NUMBER OF CONTACTS HAVE ALSO TESTED POSITIVE. WE’LL BE ISSUING A LIST OF PLACES THEY HAVE BEEN AFTER THE BRIEFING. VENUES ARE LOW RISK 

IN REALITY, WE’RE AT A POINT WHERE WE CAN’T CONFIRM HOW THESE CASES ARE LINKED TO THE NYE CASES. TOO MUCH TIME HAS PASSED, SO WE’LL NEVER KNOW 

NOW IT’S ABOUT CONTAINING ANY WIDER SPREAD 

REMAIN VIGILANT FOR SYMPTOMS – SELF ISOLATE AND REPORT THEM TO 111

HOWARD 

WE ARE STARTING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE VIRUS HAS BEEN SPREADING 

IF EVERYONE SHOWED SYMPTOMS IT WOULD BE EASIER, BUT NOT THE CASE

WORKING HARD TO SHUT DOWN THE INFECTION CHAIN, TOUGH JOB 

THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON IS OUR BEHAVIOUR 

WE’VE NEARLY DONE A WEEK 

CHRIS WHITTY HAS SAID ‘NEXT 3 WEEKS WILL BE THE WORST OF THE PANDEMIC’ IN THE UK  

THIS MORNING, COMIN HEARD ABOUT SIGNIFICANT PRESSURE ON BED SPACE IN HOSPITALS. WINTER IS ALWAYS TOUGH

SUCCESS IS IN YOUR HANDS 

THE MEASURES THAT WE PUT IN PLACE WERE BASED ON A RISK, SOMETHING THAT *MIGHT* HAPPEN 

WE NOW HAVE A THREAT, THE VIRUS IS IN THE COMMUNITY AND IT HAS SPREAD 

SOME RULE CHANGES TO TIGHTEN UP 🔧

• EDUCATION – FACILITIES STILL OPEN, PROCESSES WILL BE TIGHTENED. HUBS THERE FOR VULNERABLE AND KEYWORKER KIDS, WITH NO ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS. WE’LL BE REINFORCING BUBBLES AND STRONGLY ADVISE FACE COVERINGS FOR ALL ADULTS AND SECONDARY STUDENTS. PRIMARY KIDS SHOULD WEAR MASKS IF THEY HAVE ONE

• RETAIL – GARDEN CENTRES TO CLOSE. HARDWARE AND BUILDING PROVIDERS TO OPEN TO TRADE CUSTOMERS ONLY. DON’T SHOP FOR THINGS THAT AREN’T ESSENTIAL

• BORDERS – RECENT CHANGES ARE PROPORTIONATE AND APPROPRIATE TO THE THREAT. 3 X TESTS. STRICT SELF ISO. IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING TRAVEL OFF ISLAND, THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU DO. IF YOU LEAVE WE DON’T KNOW HOW EASY IT WILL BE TO RETURN. IF WE NEED TO TIGHTEN FURTHER, WE WILL

CERTAIN AMOUNT FOR THE GOV TO DO, BUT SUCCESS IS IN YOUR HANDS

ACT LIKE YOU’RE INFECTED WITH COVID

WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR HOUSE, THINK ABOUT WHETHER YOUR JOURNEY IS NECESSARY 

USE COMMON SENSE. IF THERE ARE TWO MANY PEOPLE, ‘WALK ON BY’

KEEP YOUR DISTANCE, WEAR A MASK, WASH YOUR HANDS

IF YOU’RE GONNA LET SOMEONE INTO YOUR HOME, CONSIDER WHAT IT WOULD MEAN IF THEY ARE INFECTIOUS. DON’T PUT YOUR FAMILY AT RISK

EMPLOYERS – GET YOUR EMPLOYEES TO STAY AT HOME

CRITICAL TO PROTECT VACCINATION PROGRAMME 

ASHFORD

THINGS HAVE MOVED ON SINCE THE LAST UPDATE 

A THIRD VACCINE NOW APPROVED – NEEDS TO BE TRANSPORTED FROZEN BUT CAN GO IN THE FRIDGE AFTER THAT 

WE DON’T GET OUR FULL VACCINE ENTITLEMENT AT ONCE 

OVER 80’S LETTERS STILL GOING OUT 

FIRST OVER 80’S VACCINATION CARRIED OUT TODAY

WHEN YOU GET YOUR LETTER – RING 111. ONLY RING WHEN LETTER IS IN HAND 

CARE HOME PROGRAMME WILL START LATER THIS WEEK 

WE WILL HAVE COMPLETED CARE HOMES AND RESIDENTIAL CARE BY THE END OF THE MONTH 

PATIENT TRANSFERS CAN ISOLATE WITH THE REST OF THE HOUSEHOLD. THEY WILL BE ISSUED WITH A MODIFIED DIRECTION NOTICE, THIS IS A CLINICAL DECISION BASED ON CARE REQUIREMENTS 

QUESTIONS 

TIM: WHAT ARE THE FIGURES?

DR H: WHICH FIGURES?

TIM: ERM…CASES?

DR H: 21 ACTIVE CASES. WE’LL TELL YOU ABOUT THE SATURDAY NIGHT CASE WHEN CONTACT TRACING IS COMPLETE 

DAVID: 6 NEW CASES, NONE IN HOSPITAL 

PAUL: WHAT IS THE R NUMBER? 

ASHY: NOT RELEVANT. R NUMBERS DON’T WORK IN SMALL JURISDICTIONS

DR H: LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN THE UK DON’T USE THE R NUMBERS

PAUL: CARE HOMES ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE VACCINE ROLLOUT? IS THE CONSENT FORM SIGNED OFF?

DAVID: THE CLINICAL PROTOCOLS ARE IN PLACE TO START ROLL OUT NEXT WEEK 

HELEN: HOW ARE YOU GETTING THE MESSAGES OUT TO PEOPLE WHO DON’T SPEAK ENGLISH?

HQ: GOOGLE TRANSLATE 

HELEN: IF THERE ARE MORE COMMUNITY CASES THEN WILL WE NEED TO EXTEND LOCKDOWN?

HQ: WE MUST ENSURE WE COME OUT SAFELY, THAT SHOULD BE THE FOCUS RATHER THAN A DEADLINE. TOO EARLY TO GIVE A DATE   

ALEX: IF WE RAMP UP COMMUNITY TESTING, WON’T IT GET US OUT OF LOCKDOWN SOONER?

DR H: THANKS FOR PICKING UP MY FAVE TOPIC AGAIN 

POPULATION MASS TESTING IS UNPROVEN IN ANY CONTEXT. OUR FOCUS HAS TO BE ON VIGOROUS CONTACT TRACING 

LIVERPOOL MASS TESTING HAD AN UPTAKE OF 25% WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD. ISSUE IS THAT THE SORT OF PEOPLE WHO COME FORWARD ARE COMPARATIVELY LOW RISK. 

SOME ARE FOR IT AND SOME ARE AGAINST IT

ALEX: BUT IF WE HAVE PCR CAPACITY, SHOULDN’T WE USE IT?

DR H: WE NEED IT TO BE TARGETED, OTHERWISE WE’RE LOOKING FOR NEEDLES IN HAYSTACKS. NEED TO FOLLOW LINES OF TRANSMISSION. RATHER THAN SAYING ‘ROCK UP TO THE GRANDSTAND FOR A TEST’. THIS WOULD SLOW DOWN 

SAM: WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS?

DAVID: INCREASE OF 6 

ZERO OF CASES IN HOSPITAL 

SAM: HOW MANY ACTIVE CASES?

DAVID: LET ME GOOGLE IT. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ACTIVE CASES IS 27 

SAM: DO YOU HAVE PROJECTIONS FOR COMMUNITY SPREAD LIKE IN THE FIRST WAVE?

DAVID: NOT RELEVANT NOW. WHEN WE STARTED, WE WANTED TO SEE THE POTENTIAL SPREAD, WE WERE ON THE SAME TRAJECTORY AS ITALY 

STRATEGY IS NOW TOTAL ELIMINATION SO IT’S LESS RELEVANT 

SIMON: THERE IS CONCERN FOR THE WELFARE OF TAXI DRIVERS DROPPING PEOPLE FOR TESTS AND COUGHING IN THE TAXI.

HQ: I THOUGHT THERE WERE PROTOCOLS 

DR H: THERE ARE PROTOCOLS TO MITIGATE THE RISKS. FACEMASKS, SOCIAL DISTANCING OUTSIDE, PRE ORDERING AND PRE PAYING, PASSENGER DIAGONAL, WINDOWS PARTIALLY OPEN 

CLOSING 

WE PLAN TO HOLD BRIEFINGS ON WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY THIS WEEK 

BUT WE’LL SHARE IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS 

GET YOUR INFO FROM TRUSTED SOURCES

CALL COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR THE FACTS 

STAY AT HOME, WEAR A MASK, CALL 111 IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS