Key Bristol Updates 8th September 2021
Key Bristol updates
Cases
Rates in Bristol remain high. The virus is widely circulating in the city. The rate of infection in Bristol is now 382 cases per 100,000 population. The England rate is 303 cases per 100,000. There
are currently 98 people in our hospitals unwell with COVID-19.
18,842 people have been tested in the past week and the positivity rate remains high at 9.8 per cent.
Although it is not a legal requirement, we recommend wearing a mask, making space, meeting outdoors and ventilating spaces. Vaccination and testing remain high priorities.
Every Monday and Thursday we provide an accurate and detailed snapshot of the city’s cases on the council’s COVID-19 data page.
COVID-19 vaccinations
Vaccination coverage is increasing. 332,403 people over 16 in Bristol (76 per cent) have had one or more doses of a vaccine.
Mandatory social care COVID-19 vaccinations
From Thursday 11 November, anyone entering a care home as part of their professional responsibilities will need to show proof of vaccination or exemption, unless they are under 18. This includes care workers, hairdressers and maintenance.
To be fully vaccinated by Thursday 11 November you will need to receive your first dose by Thursday 16 September. You can do this by booking an appointment on the National Booking System, calling 119 or attending one of the city's many walk-in vaccination clinics.
The NHS COVID Pass can be used to check and demonstrate vaccine status. The Pass is available on the NHS app. You can also request a letter in the post on the NHS website or by calling 119.
Changes to travel rules
From Monday 30 August, Montenegro and Thailand were added to the red travel list, meaning passengers arriving in the UK from these destinations will need to isolate for 10 days in a managed quarantine facility and follow the necessary testing requirements.
At the same time, The Azores, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania and Switzerland moved to the green list. This means that travellers from these destinations will not have to quarantine regardless of whether they are fully vaccinated.
For more information visit GOV.UK
Antibody testing
If you’ve tested positive for COVID-19 after a PCR test, you can help improve understanding of the protection provided by antibodies generated following COVID-19 infection and vaccination.
Anyone aged over 18 is now able to opt in to take part in the new initiative when booking a PCR test.
You can find out more about antibody testing on the government website.
Business and Economy
Maintain COVID-safe behaviour
We ask all businesses to continue following COVID-19 secure measures to help tackle the infection rate and protect the people of Bristol.
Face coverings
Wearing a face covering remains one of the best protective measures to reduce the chance of catching COVID-19 as well as preventing the spread of the virus to others.
Customers should be encouraged to wear face coverings and staff should have appropriate protection especially if they are front of house and dealing with customers.
To make it clear what the rules are for your premises you should place posters in the window so they are visible on entry and use signage to encourage customers to wear face coverings and make space.
A face visor or shield only provides limited protection compared to a face covering. To be most effective, the face covering should fit securely around the face to cover the nose and mouth and be made of a breathable material capable of filtering airborne particles.
Transparent face shields can aid communication for those that require lip-reading or facial expressions. However, compared to a face covering, face shields only provide limited protection as they do not adequately cover the nose and mouth and do not filter airborne particles
Close contact services, such as hairdressers and beauticians, should continue to take precautions and wear protective equipment including a face visor or close-fitting goggles and Type II face mask because of the close proximity to a customer’s face, mouth and nose. It is important for staff to wear both a visor and a mask.
Visit the government website for guidance on face coverings.
Ventilation
Businesses can also make sure there is good ventilation throughout the premises to help flush out older stale air and let fresh air in.
Measures to improve ventilation can include:
Natural ventilation: it is best not to recirculate air from one place to another. Opening windows and doors allows fresh air in and for air to circulate.
Mechanical ventilation: uses fans and ducts to bring in fresh air from outside. It can be used where natural ventilation is not practical, for example in a nightclub.
Air cleaning and filtration units: can be used to remove contaminants (such as COVID-19) where it is not possible to maintain adequate ventilation.
License conditions should be checked, where applicable, before introducing any changes to prevent undue noise and disturbance to your neighbours.
Visit the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website for more information on ventilation.
Rapid testing
We continue to recommend getting regular lateral flow (rapid) tests to identify cases where people have no symptoms, to help prevent the spread of the virus. Testing can provide confidence to your workers and customers and help protect those around you.
Rapid tests are quick, free and available to anyone without COVID-19 symptoms, giving you the result within 30 minutes.
Visit our website for further information on rapid testing.
If you or one of your employees receives a positive rapid test result or have any COVID-19 symptoms they must self-isolate immediately and book a PCR test.
Skills Support for the Workforce
A £2.29m skills training fund is available to small and medium sized businesses in the West of England to upskill their workforce.
Businesses can access the funded training through the Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) programme to upskill their employees with training courses and qualifications, to grow their business and boost the local economy.
There are hundreds of courses on offer, ranging from short one-day courses to longer programmes, for current employees, employees on furlough returning to work, or new recruits that need to be brought up to speed.
Support is also available to business owners facing the prospect of making hard decisions about redundancy, and to individuals who have been made redundant in the last three months through the Skills Support for Redundancy (SSR) programme.
Where’s it to?
Over the last 12 weeks we have visited the city centre and 14 high streets and profiled over 200 independent traders in the Where’s it to? campaign.
The campaign looks to rebuild and strengthen the city’s reputation as a visitor, shopping and leisure destination.
Using local personalities to give a tour of each high street, we have highlighted the diversity of our traders and areas of the city, to help encourage people to shop locally and to build stronger resilient independent businesses that are supported by their own communities.
Follow the Where’s it to? campaign on the Shop Local Bristol social channels:
Business recovery survey
COVID-19 and Brexit have both heavily impacted businesses across Bristol’s high streets and the city centre.
To help shape future business support, the council is running an online survey to better understand how businesses and organisations across the city are responding to the current challenges.
Please share your views by completing the short business recovery survey.
Education
There are some changes to the way education settings are operating this term, including:
Self-isolation
Students and staff who are fully vaccinated, or under the age of 18 years and six months, are not required to self-isolate if they are a close contact of someone with COVID-19. They will instead be advised to take a PCR test which can be booked through the government website or by calling 119.
Rapid testing
Secondary school students should continue to test twice weekly at home. We also encourage all families to continue regularly taking lateral flow (rapid) tests during term time, to help identify cases where young people have no symptoms.
Adult Social Care
There are currently 47 cases (16 residents and 32 staff) in 21 care settings that are being monitored on an ongoing basis
In Older People’s care homes, 95 per cent of residents have had their first and 93 per cent have had their second vaccination. For staff, 87 per cent have had their first and 76 per cent have had their second vaccination
In care homes for Adults with Long Term Conditions, 94 per cent of residents have had their first and 88 per cent have had their second vaccination. For staff, 87 per cent have had their first vaccination and 76 per cent have had their second
For Home Care staff, 84 per cent have had their first and 73 per cent have had their second vaccination
We are currently experiencing issues with the supply of home care due to workforce issues. Our Brokerage team are working closely with home care providers to ensure we can source home care for people and ensuring that people are not at risk if there is a delay in arranging home care to start. We have a number of actions to increase recruitment and retention in the home care sector
Public Communications
This morning (Wednesday 8 September) the Mayor appeared on BCfm Radio speaking about Bristol’s latest response to COVID-19 and providing updates on the latest announcements across the city. Listen in just after 8.35am: BCfm Radio
On Thursday morning (9 September), the Mayor will be speaking on the Breakfast Show at Ujima Radio. He will give updates on Bristol’s response to coronavirus and provide updates on the latest announcements from around the city. Listen in just after 8:30am: Ujima Radio 98FM | Text: 07960 240 198
Bristol City Council
We have reminded colleagues of the arrangements in place if they are returning to one of our core offices (City Hall and 100 Temple Street) for the first time, or for the first time since early in the pandemic
Latest government/UK update
The government has set out its proposals to invest in the health and care system, including increasing NHS capacity of planned activity levels and bringing forward a social care reform plan, funded by a new Health and Social Care levy [link]. On Monday, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed £5.4bn for NHS COVID-19 response over the next 6 months [link]
Last week, the DHSC wrote to council chief executives regarding the preparation for delivering vaccines in autumn/winter 2021 [link]
It’s been confirmed the government spending plans will be set out at the Spending Review on Wednesday 27 October alongside an Autumn Budget [link]
The DHSC has launched a new campaign targeting under-18s and their parents to encourage vaccine uptake, with ongoing support from TikTok and MTV [link]
The UK Health Security Agency has updated the guides providing information on COVID-19 and vaccination to add new information for women who might get pregnant, who are pregnant or are breastfeeding their baby [link]
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has launched a consultation on permitted development rights. They are aiming to make those introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic permanent and are consulting on including the right for markets to be held by or on behalf of local councils and the right for moveable structures in the grounds of pubs, cafes, restaurants and historic visitor attractions [link]
The Department for Education (DfE) has published guidance announcing additional funding in the 2021 to 2022 academic year to support schools with education recovery following COVID-19 [link]
On Friday 3 September, The MHCLG updated the guidance for councils on how to access the local government income compensation scheme for lost sales, fees and charges as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak to add new information on the 2021/22 extended scheme [link]
The new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) will officially launch on Friday 1 October with the aim of tackling health inequalities across the country. It will be co-led by newly appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy [link]
Contact details
The We Are Bristol helpline is 0800 694 0184 for anyone to call if they need help (free to call and open 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri and 10am to 2pm Sat-Sun)
Email address for COVID-19 enquiries: coronavirus@bristol.gov.uk
Follow our COVID-19 updates on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Nextdoor
If you no longer wish to receive these updates, please reply to Covid@bristol.gov.uk