Your Town and Parish Council News - Book of Condolence - COVID-19 update - Volunteers wanted - and more

Book of Condolence for His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh

The funeral of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will take place this Saturday (17 April) at 3pm in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. A national minute's silence will be held to coincide with the start of the funeral.

An online book of condolence is now open on Buckingham Palace’s website.

For your residents who do not have online access, please make them aware they can send a message of condolence to the Chairman’s Office, Room 102, West Sussex County Council, County Hall, Chichester PO19 1RQ.

Because of the current COVID-19 guidance and restrictions, people are being urged to please avoid gathering in public places: for example, rather than laying flowers in a public area, they may wish to display a floral tribute at home.

COVID-19 update

We are now in Stage 2 of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown.

This means all non-essential shops, indoor leisure facilities (gyms) and personal care premises can now reopen.

Groups of six people or two households can now meet outside, including in outdoor hospitality areas at cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars.

Restrictions are easing, but we can’t ease up yet because the virus hasn’t gone away.

As new changes came in to place on Monday, we all need to keep doing our part to prevent the spread of this virus. Listen to Neil Williamson, Environmental Health Team Manager at Arun District Council talk about the importance of keeping safe as shops reopen as well as what we need to remember when we go out - Be patient, be kind. Be sure to look after yourself and others.

https://soundcloud.com/wscc-podcast/neil-williamson

Residents who choose to return to the shops, restaurants, high streets and outdoor venues, are asked to please plan ahead, keep travel to a minimum, be patient, give themselves time, and consider the needs of others.

Residents should follow the guidance at each location, and keep in mind the advice to ‘act like you have it,’ remember hands, face, space, fresh air, and keep West Sussex safe:

• Hands – wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and ideally warm running water often, and as soon as you get home. Use hand sanitiser or gel if soap and water are not available.
• Face – wear a face covering in indoor settings where social distancing may be difficult and you will meet people you do not normally meet.
• Space – stay at least two metres away from anyone you do not live with, or who is not in your support bubble.
• Fresh air – letting in air by opening a window can disperse COVID-19 particles, while fresh air outdoors dilutes the virus and you have more space to physically distance.

Symptom-free COVID-19 test kits that can be used at home are now available.

Home testing is now available to everyone in England as part of a government drive to encourage everyone who does not have coronavirus symptoms to get tested twice a week. Visit westsussex.gov.uk for information on how to access tests.

If you test positive you must self-isolate immediately, along with everyone in your household. As soon as possible, you should also book a follow-up PCR test.

If you take a PCR test within two days of the positive rapid test result, and the PCR result is negative, you will no longer be required to self-isolate.

If you test negative this does not completely rule out infection with COVID-19, as there can be false negative results. To protect yourself and others, you must continue to follow the current restrictions in place and remember: hands, face, space, fresh air.

Please remember we also have updates to the images we use across our social channels as well as posters. Please share this information with friends, family and people in your community who might not otherwise see it.

Thank you for your support and let’s continue to do all we can. Stop the spread of coronavirus. Act like you have it. #KeepWestSussexSafe

Vaccination Programme – next phase begins

From this week, people aged 45 and over are now eligible to receive their vaccination and will be invited to book an appointment.

Across the country, we are moving to the next phase of the COVID-19 vaccination programme after reaching the target to offer all those in phase 1 of the programme a vaccination. Everybody in cohorts 1 to 9 – those aged 50 and over, the clinically vulnerable and health and social care workers – have been offered a vaccine, meeting the government’s 15 April target.

This group accounts for 99% of all COVID-19 deaths during the pandemic, so by offering them the vaccine, the NHS is helping ensure the most vulnerable are protected from the virus. Now, in addition to the groups above, people aged 45 to 49 across England can also now book appointments through the NHS booking service.

If you know people who are trying to book an appointment and there are currently no available slots on the national website or after calling 119, please encourage them to keep trying as more will become available over the coming weeks. Alternatively they can wait to be contacted by their local GP-led vaccination service.

Could you support a child?

Could you or any of your residents take an active role in supporting our children? Independent Visitors are people who give up a little time to spend it with a child aged between 8 and 17 who are cared for by the County Council. The emphasis is very much on having fun and building an attachment, whether it’s spending a couple of hours going for a walk each month or doing another fun activity together, it all makes a difference to a child.

We are currently looking to recruit more Independent Visitors and are hosting two online information events on 21 and 23 April for people to find out more.

Anyone interested in becoming an Independent Visitor can sign up for one of two sessions on Wednesday, 21 April at 7pm or Friday, 23 April at 11am at: http://ow.ly/3FDd30rCZL2

Find out more about the scheme here or email independent.visitors@westsussex.gov.uk

Libraries are now open for browsing

West Sussex Libraries are now welcoming residents back through their doors for browsing and booked IT sessions.

To help residents and staff stay safe, COVID-secure measures are in place in all 36 West Sussex libraries. When visiting, residents need to wear a face covering, use hand sanitiser and follow the floor markings.

A limited pre-bookable IT service is also available in all libraries. The one-hour sessions need to be booked in advance, either by phoning or visiting your local library.

'Book to Recycle' update

Please make your residents aware that a booking system is now operating at six Household Waste Recycling Sites in West Sussex – Bognor Regis, Crawley, Horsham, Littlehampton, Shoreham-By-Sea and Worthing.

The objective of the scheme is to provide fair access to as many residents as possible in any given week, in a way that's safe for staff and visitors, and avoids disruption to local residents, businesses and the highway network.

Some sites have experienced a surge in visitors at the start of booking slots. Residents are being reminded that they can arrive at any time during their booking slot, they do not need to arrive at the start. So if they book for 10:30am – 11:00am, they may arrive at any point in this period. Residents are also reminded that while the majority of sites have 30 minute booking slots, the length of booking slot is different at Bognor Regis and Shoreham, where slots are 15 minutes each.

Residents can book a slot up to 14 days in advance and must book at least one day before you intend to visit the site.

To give feedback on the trial, please email: wastes.servicescontracts@westsussex.gov.uk

More information about the scheme and to book a visit.

New #KeepCalmGetAnAlarm launched

A new smoke alarm campaign has been launched by West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, encouraging residents to fit their homes with working alarms and linked detectors.

The campaign – which runs until mid-May – comes as a sad result of the fire service attending four fatal fires between December and March this year.

We would really appreciate it if you could help share the message with your communities – particularly those who live in rural areas. We have created a toolkit of resources full of resources, including graphics, social media posts and an article for you to use. Please note: the toolkit is best accessed through Google Chrome. 

If you have any questions regarding the campaign, please contact us.

Local school steps back in time

April's edition of West Sussex Unwrapped explores 185 years of Eastergate School. The blog features archival school records from the collection, such as log books and admission registers. These fascinating documents reveal untold stories of Eastergate’s pupils and teachers, and traces the important changes in education throughout the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Accompanying the blog is wonderful film footage of the modernised school in 1970 from Screen Archive South East.

West Sussex Unwrapped is a joint initiative between West Sussex Record Office and Screen Archive South East and offers viewers a mix of films, photos, documents and facts on a range of West Sussex topics.