Cosby Parish Council

This is really tough for everyone and we recognise that but the NHS hospitals and staff are under immense strain. The new variant of the virus spreads more easily from person to person. As a result our local hospitals are treating more Covid-19 patients now than at any other time during the pandemic.

You will have heard that a third coronavirus vaccine has now been approved (Moderna) for use in the UK. While this is excellent and will increase the availability of vaccine and offer us a way out of the pandemic, it will take many months to vaccinate everyone.

While we can look to the future with far more hope, at the moment the current situation is grave and we must all follow the 'Stay at Home' rules to the letter to help protect each other and to protect the NHS.

The Stay at Home rules
The Government has set out what we all can and cannot do while England is in its current lockdown period.

We should not leave our homes or be outside our homes other than for a few specific reasons:

To shop for basic necessities for you or a vulnerable person

• To go to work if you cannot work from home
• To provide essential voluntary or charitable services
• To exercise, once a day
• To meet your support bubble or childcare bubble, if you are legally able to form one
• To seek medical assistance including getting a COVID test
• To avoid injury or risk of harm including domestic abuse
• To attend education or childcare, if you're eligible

There are some other exceptions where you can legally leave your home such as to take a pet to the vet or for children to move between households where parents don't live together, so please check the full 'Stay at Home' advice on the Government's website.

Local situation

The latest 7 day data shows that the district has 457 cases per 100,000, this is above/below the England average rate of 654.9 per 100,000.

The latest UK coronavirus case data can be found on .GOV.uk website. The settings have been changed on the site to display Covid-19 cases for the district of Blaby.

An update on services

Our focus will remain on providing the best support we can to people who are most in need of our help in these challenging circumstances. Whilst our services are all operational, the rapid increase in cases and national lockdown has undoubtedly had an impact on the time and way we respond to service requests.

Like so many of you, we are challenged by Covid-19 cases, staff having to self isolate, ever changing work priorities and with national lockdown home-schooling and childcare responsibilities. Sometimes it may take a little longer than normal for us to respond and you may experience delays in service delivery.

Once again, your support during this period has been fantastic, and we thank you. As a result of the rise in cases, and new lockdown, we want to ask you to please bear with us if you're getting in contact with us, or using our services.

Thank you again, and we will update you with any further updates.

Covid-19 Vaccinations

The NHS now provides two vaccines, the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines. A third vaccine has just been approved (Moderna). There are over 730 vaccination centres and more than 1.3 million people have received the vaccine in the last month - approximately 1 in 50 people.

The Oxford vaccine is easier to distribute. This means that it can be administered more quickly and that priority groups can be vaccinated sooner.

With three vaccines now approved, we will be able to vaccinate a greater number of people who are at highest risk, protecting them from the virus and the NHS from further strain.

Find out about the roll out at nhs.uk/CovidVaccine

How safe is the Covid-19 vaccine - find the answer on the NHS website

Testing Assistant Vacancies

Leicestershire will be rolling out lateral flow testing and you can support our residents by assisting with the delivery and operation of self-administered testing at our covid secure mobile testing sites.

Full training and personal protective equipment will be provided.

Applications are open until 31 January and can be found on the East Midlands Shared Services website.

Coronavirus Vaccination Scams

As of 7 January 2021, Action Fraud had received 57 reports from members of the public who have been sent text messages claiming to be from the NHS, offering them the opportunity to sign up for coronavirus vaccinations.

The texts ask the recipient to click on a link which takes them to an online form where they are prompted to input personal and financial details. In some cases the online form has looked very similar to the real NHS website.

Remember, the vaccinations are free of charge and you will not be asked for a payment.

In the UK, coronavirus vaccinations will only be available via the National Health Services of England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. You can be contacted by the NHS, your employer, a local GP surgery or pharmacy, to receive your vaccination.

The NHS will never:

• ask for your bank account or card details
• ask for your PIN or banking passwords
• arrive unannounced at your home to administer the vaccine
• ask for documentation to prove your identity, such as a passport or utility bills

If you receive a call you believe to be fraudulent, hang up. If you are suspicious about an email you have received, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. Suspicious text messages should be forwarded to the number 7726, which is free of charge.

If you believe you are the victim of a fraud, please report this to Action Fraud as soon as possible by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.

You can also download the poster for more information.

Key workers and schools

Following national lockdown the Department for Education issued guidance about the provision of school places for children of critical key workers and those children who are vulnerable. Since the start of lockdown many schools are seeing an increase in the number of "key worker" children attending school.

To limit the spread of the virus, it is vital that only those who absolutely need to go into school do so. The full list of people who are classed as key workers is available on the Government's website.

Should there be too many requests for places, schools will be prioritising places for vulnerable children and the following key workers (in no particular order):-

• Families with two critical workers or single parent families who are critical workers
• Critical local authority and public service workers, who cannot perform their tasks from home without their children attending school
• Front line health and social care workers
• Officers and staff from the police and fire service
• School staff
• Early years staff

Business Grants

We are currently awaiting guidance from the Government about the financial support available for this lockdown period.

During the course of the pandemic, we have overseen the distribution in millions of pounds of business grants, and this will continue when information comes through for the latest support.

Our Reliefs and Exemptions page will be updated as soon as we know more with information, guidance and to apply online.

A comprehensive summary of the financial support available for businesses, self-employed, families and Local Authorities is available to view on the Government's website.

Volunteering for your community

Can you help? We're looking for residents to join our group of volunteers to offer support during the pandemic.

As part of the volunteering you can help us with shopping for those people who are worried to go out whilst covid-19 poses a significant threat to them. Information and training is provided and the work goes a huge way to ensuring vulnerable residents in the community get the support they need.

If you're interested you can fill out our form on www.blaby.gov.uk/community-hub.

Looking after yourself in lockdown

The third national lockdown is tough on everyone, regardless of circumstances and situations. See below information which we hope can help you.

Staying Active

January is supposed to be the month of change, motivation and resolution. Despite the gyms being closed, there is plenty on offer to help you get fit or maintain and improve your fitness levels in your own home.

Everyone Active have an on-demand service which is currently free, and also offers access to our leisure centres they manage, in Enderby and Huncote, when they reopen.

Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert website also has a guide on keeping fit for free, with all types of exercises and workouts features.

Mental Health Support

If you're worried about yourself or a friend/family member during the pandemic and this lockdown, the NHS has a useful A-Z of the charities available, depending on the support needed.

NHS Mental Health A-Z

Healthy Cooking

The BBC have a handy guide on how to get families eating healthily together, and getting kids involved.

Five tips for helping your kids to eat healthily all year round » Less