Author: Clerk

Coronavirus Update

PM announces easing of some lockdown restrictions

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has today (Tuesday 23 June) set out further changes to lockdown measures in England to enable people to see more of their friends and family, help businesses get back on their feet and get people back in their jobs.

From Saturday 4th July, pubs, restaurants and hairdressers will be able to reopen, providing they adhere to COVID Secure guidelines.

From the same date, two households will be able to meet up in any setting with social distancing measures, and people can enjoy staycations in England with the reopening of accommodation sites.

In order to begin restoring the arts and cultural sector, some leisure facilities and tourist attractions may also reopen, if they can do so safely – this includes outdoor gyms and playgrounds, cinemas, museums, galleries, theme parks and arcades, as well as libraries, social clubs, places of worship and community centres.

Following a review, the Prime Minister has set out that where it is not possible to stay two metres apart, guidance will allow people to keep a social distance of ‘one metre plus’. This means staying one metre apart, plus mitigations which reduce the risk of transmission.

“Close proximity” venues such as nightclubs, soft-play areas, indoor gyms, swimming pools, water parks, bowling alleys and spas will need to remain closed for now. The Government is continuing to work with these sectors to establish taskforces to help them to become COVID Secure and reopen as soon as possible.

While the infection rate continues to fall, the Prime Minister has been clear that the public must continue to follow social distancing guidelines to keep coronavirus under control. The Government will keep all measures under constant review and “will not hesitate to apply the handbrake, or reverse measures, should the virus begin to run out of control”.

â–º Central Government will publish Covid-secure guidelines for every sector that is re-opening so keep an eye on gov.uk for more details and we will cover these in our next e-newsletter too.

It is important to keep following these key points:

1. Keep washing your hands.

2. Stay 2 metres apart wherever feasible, and mitigate the risks at 1 metre where not.

3. Avoid public transport when possible, and wear a mask when not.

4. Get tested immediately if you have symptoms. More here. 

5. Self-isolate if instructed by NHS Test and Trace.

Follow social distancing advisory signs

Essex County Council and Braintree District Council have worked together to plan the installation of several social distancing signs while High Street and nearby improvement works are carried out by Braintree District Council.

Called ‘Safer, Greener, Healthier’, these schemes aim to provide bigger, safer spaces for  shoppers, residents, workers and visitors to maintain social distance.

Measures will be installed in Braintree from tomorrow Wednesday 24th June and will be constantly reviewed and altered if required.

The measures in Braintree are designed to help allow people to social distance while also encouraging more people to walk and cycle.

Learn more here. 

Coronavirus Update 28th May 2020

stay alert

Yesterday the Health & Social Care Secretary announced that the NHS Test and Trace service will launch today (Thursday 28th May).

Anyone who tests positive for coronavirus will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace and will need to share information about their recent interactions. This could include household members, people with whom they have been in direct contact, or within 2 metres for more than 15 minutes.

People identified as having been in close contact with someone who has a positive test must stay at home for 14 days, even if they do not have symptoms, to stop unknowingly spreading the virus.

Full details are available here.

Latest information and guidance

BDC Re-Opening of Town Centres

Re-opening of our town centres

Earlier this week the Prime Minister set out a timeline for retail to reopen in June. Outdoor markets and car showrooms will be able to reopen from 1 June, as soon as they are able to meet the COVID-19 secure guidelines to protect shoppers and workers.

All other non-essential retail including shops selling clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, books, and electronics, plus tailors, auction houses, photography studios, and indoor markets, will be expected to be able to reopen from 15 June if the Government’s five tests are met and they follow the COVID-19 secure guidelines, giving them three weeks to prepare.

We are currently working on safety measures to support our town centres for both businesses and shoppers and will share these details with you once they are finalised.

BDC Heroes Campaign

Our heroes campaign

heroes

Since we launched our heroes campaign, it’s received a great response on our social media channels by highlight individuals and groups across our district doing amazing things for others during the coronavirus outbreak.

Since we launched on 20th April to 4th May 2020, we shared over 40 individual stories, resulting in 24,000 engagements and have been seen by over 279,420 people across our channels.

We are still keen to highlight those doing fantastic things, so if you know of anyone, please do get in touch with us by:

BDC Virtual Street Market

virtual street market

As our way of supporting our local traders and businesses during these difficult times, we have decided to host our very first virtual street market this Saturday 30th May to connect residents and visitors with local businesses and to keep our street market community spirit alive.

We want to recreate a market-like atmosphere, to support our local businesses and makers – an online quarter to promote the best of our traders.

Anyone can join in via our Facebook event page on the day to keep updated with what our traders are up to at the moment, what they’re selling and how they can support them. Some traders will also be offering exclusive discounts especially for this event.

We’re encouraging people to spread the word, take part on the day by posting positive feedback and interacting with our traders, getting friends & family involved and having a bit of fun.

We would really appreciate your support by sharing on your channels. You can also share our posts on Facebook and Twitter.

BDC Garden Waste Collection Service Update

Garden waste collection service update

garden waste

The Garden Waste Collection Service has restarted initially on a four-weekly cycle.

We are encouraging residents to keep their postcard safe if they have received it.

If they have not received their postcard by Royal Mail by Monday 1st June, residents can email our Customer Service Centre their details as listed below, so we can advise them of their start date and Reference Code so they can look up your future four-weekly cycle dates online at www.braintree.gov.uk/coronavirus under the ‘Service Changes and Updates, Bins and Recycling’ section.