Some information for you from the Collaborative Communities COVID-19 Board. The Board is made up of: Community Action Suffolk, Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils, Church of England in Suffolk, East Suffolk Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Ipswich and East Suffolk CCG, Ministry of Defence, National Probation Service – Norfolk & Suffolk, Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Suffolk Association of Local Councils, Suffolk Community Foundation, Suffolk Constabulary, Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Voluntary Organisations Group, West Suffolk CCG, West Suffolk Council.
Advice to those who are shielding: At the end of July, Government help, including food parcels and medication deliveries, will be stopped to those who are shielding. Those affected will have already received a letter from Government outlining the changes. If you, or someone you know, has concerns about the end of these Government services and needs to make arrangements after this time please call the Home, But Not Alone phoneline who will be able to offer guidance and support. This phone number is 0800 876 6926 (9am-5pm).
Clarity on National and Suffolk Lockdown Plans and Infection Numbers: There has been a lot in the news this week about plans for local lockdowns, especially with the situation in Leicester, and some untruths about a ‘spike’ in Suffolk’s numbers.
Firstly, there has been no spike in Suffolk. The list published in a national newspaper on Tuesday, which listed 36 places where local lockdowns might be necessary, was based on a comparison of the number of cases last week (20-26 June) compared to the number the week before (13-19 June). In Suffolk, there was an increase of 1 case in this period, from 2 cases to 3 cases, equivalent to an increase of 50%.
Today the Government will publish COVID-19 pillar 2 testing data. Up until this point the data that has been published at a local level has been pillar 1 data which is based on the amount of people who have been tested via NHS and Public Health England laboratories. Pillar 2 tests are tests which have been processed in commercial laboratories, and this data will include tests conducted in wider community settings, such as the Copdock site in Ipswich. Not all cases identified will be new, there will be cases that have been identified since pillar 2 testing has been up and running. Suffolk remains an area with low cumulative case rates and unlike areas such as Leicester, there is no current evidence to suggest weekly cases are increasing, and cumulative population case rates remain statistically significantly lower than England.
On Tuesday this week Suffolk published its Local Outbreak Control Plan. This plan will be triggered where there are suspected or confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks in any setting or community within the county. It outlines how complex cases will be managed in more than 30 high-risk places, locations and communities, in particular care homes and schools. It also outlines local testing capacity, use of data to identify and proactively manage outbreaks, and contact tracing in complex settings. You can read the plan and the an executive summary of the plan here: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19/suffolks-response/