Your Town and Parish Council News - May 2021

Covid-19 update

From today, Monday 17 May, up to six people or two households can meet indoors. Overnight stays will also be allowed and groups of up to 30 people may meet outdoors.

Further restrictions have also been lifted such as:

• hospitality venues, including pubs and restaurants, will be allowed to open indoors for groups of six
• indoor entertainment venues like cinemas and theatres will be allowed to open
• up to 30 people will be able to attend weddings, funerals, and wakes
• care homes residents will be able to have up to five named visitors, with two visitors able to attend at once provided they are tested and follow infection control measures. Residents will also have greater freedom to leave their home without having to isolate on their return. Visit gov.uk for further guidance.

We want to remind people to continue to follow the guidance. Please wash your hands regularly, keep your distance from others and wear a face covering where necessary. Making sure indoor spaces are well ventilated also helps reduce the spread.

Find out more here: www.westsussex.gov.uk/coronavirus

Current Covid-19 situation

In the seven days to Tuesday May 11, there were 120 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in West Sussex. Compared to the previous week, the number of confirmed cases is rising. Remember to visit our Data Dashboard to check infection rates throughout West Sussex and please share this information to people in your communities.

Symptom-free Covid-19 Testing

Symptom-free Covid-19 test kits are available to all residents and tests can be taken at home. You should take a regular test if you:

• leave home to work, volunteer or provide care
• have children attending school
• are visiting someone or attending an appointment in a hospital setting
• if you’re meeting up with friends outdoors, for a drink, a picnic, a walk or to exercise.

Barry Newell, Public Health and Resilience Advisor at West Sussex County Council talks about testing in our latest podcast https://soundcloud.com/wscc-podcast/regular-testing-barry-newell

Rapid test kits can be ordered at www.westsussex.gov.uk/communitytesting

Could you help us spread the message? We have shared the images we use for the Keep West Sussex Safe campaign on our website. Please feel free to download and share them with your friends, family and people in your community who might not otherwise see these important messages.

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

Latest news on vaccinations

A dedicated ‘Quiet Covid-19 Vaccination Session’ for people in West Sussex requiring their first dose Covid-19 vaccination is now available.

The session is taking place on Saturday 22 May 2021, 8.30 am – 3.45 pm at the Children and Family Centre (Home Start Portacabin), St James’ Road, Chichester PO19 7AB. This Quiet Session is being offered to people who are eligible for the vaccine and over the age of 40, who may need more time for their appointment, or have extra access needs where a quieter and calmer environment would help support them to receive their vaccination.

Residents can also book their carer in at the same time if they need their first vaccination dose too. Details on how to book, together with useful easy read documents, including reasonable adjustments form, and how to access free transport if required, can all be found on the Sussex Health & Care Partnership

Alternative vaccines

Everyone under the age of 40 will be offered an alternative to the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine when they become eligible. If your residents are eligible and are recommended to receive an alternative vaccine, they will be able to book an appointment through the national booking system very soon. Please encourage them to read more about the latest guidance here.

For more information, please read the latest newsletter about the Sussex vaccination programme

First full county council meeting this week

The new West Sussex County Council has been elected and the first meeting of the new-look council will be held this Friday (21 May).

In this meeting, which will be held partly virtually and partly in person, the new Chairman, Leader of the Council and all of the council’s committees will be appointed. The meeting will be webcast online - please share the link with your residents.

The full list of the final results from this year's election is available here.

Keep ‘Safe Against Scams’ with free webinars

Over the next three months, the West Sussex Community Safety & Wellbeing team are working with West Sussex Trading Standards to offer residents free online webinars to help keep themselves ‘Safe Against Scams’.

These hour and a half sessions have been organised as the county has seen a rise in a number of different scams, including telephone, courier and romance fraud.

The dates for the free sessions are:

• Thursday 20 May  10am – 11.30am
• Thursday 20 May  6pm – 7.30pm
• Tuesday 15 June  10am – 11.30am
• Tuesday 15 June  6pm – 7.30pm
• Tuesday 27 July  10am – 11.30am
• Tuesday 27 July  6pm – 7.30pm.

Please share these dates and encourage your residents to sign up for one of the free webinars at Eventbrite.

It's Foster Care Fortnight

Foster Care Fortnight is in full swing and we’re celebrating all of our wonderful foster carers who provide secure and loving homes to children throughout West Sussex.

The pandemic has shone a light on how a caring society can bring the best out of people and tackle challenges with compassion and kindness. This has inspired lots more people to become foster carers with West Sussex County Council over the past year - but we still need many more.

Please can you spread the word in your communities that if residents have a spare room and they're thinking about becoming a Foster Carer to get in touch with the fostering team on 033 022 27775 or visit the website for more information.         

For inspiring stories about fostering follow us on Facebook @wsccfostering and Twitter @FosterWSCC

Our Record Office has reopened

Let your residents who are interested in local history know that West Sussex Record Office Searchroom has now re-opened for pre-booked appointments on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.There are two and a half hour slots available either in the morning (9.30am-12pm) or afternoon (2pm-4.30pm). Find out more information on their ‘Visiting the Record Office’ page.

For people who can’t make it to the Record Office, they can explore the archives virtually with series two of West Sussex Unwrapped. They can catch up on series one here.

The results are in!

Many thanks to everyone who completed our recent survey about this Town and Parish Council eNewsletter.

If you didn't have time to respond, and would still like to let us know your views on it, then please email: TownandParishCouncilNews@westsussex.gov.uk

We are currently reviewing the feedback and will take onboard  suggestions for future newsletters.

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