A message from East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Dear Colleague
We are writing to request your support for the East Riding Outbreak Management Plan, which was published on our website this week and is aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the East Riding of Yorkshire and controlling any local outbreaks if they do occur.
The Government has asked all councils to produce such local plans and we have worked with health organisations and other regional and national partners to produce a plan which we hope will help to ensure the East Riding is a safe place for people to live, work, shop, learn, play, invest and visit with confidence.
Quite simply, it is all about keeping people safe and saving lives.
East Riding residents have been fantastic in their efforts so far in following Government and Public Health England guidance and in supporting each other, with numerous acts of kindness to help family, friends, neighbours and the most vulnerable members of our society.
We know how much town and parish councils have played their part in this and we ask that you continue to show that tremendous public and community spirit in the weeks and months ahead by supporting the East Riding Outbreak Management Plan.
The plan is reliant on residents and businesses following some simple steps which will give us the best chance of having an East Riding which is COVID-safe, what we are calling the 3 Steps To Safety as part of our public health campaign.
How you can play your part
For the plan to work, we need your support and what you need to do is simply follow 3 Steps To Safety and to encourage your local communities to do likewise.
The 3 Steps To Safety are: Prevent. Notice. Act.
STEP 1: Prevent:
• Keep your distance – always follow the latest social distance guidance
• Wash your hands - thoroughly washing your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds remains the best personal hygiene precaution
STEP 2: Notice:
• Be aware of COVID-19 symptoms – so you can recognise as soon as possible if you or someone close to you has them
- a high temperature
- a new, continuous cough
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
STEP 3: Act:
• Get tested – If there is any hint of the symptoms in your household, make sure the person with the symptoms is tested as soon as possible
• Stay home – Do the right thing if you and your household need to self-isolate:
- whether one of you has symptoms and you are waiting for the results
- whether one of you has tested positive
- or whether one of you has been in contact with someone who has tested positive
You can request a test by visiting www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or calling 119.
A copy of one of our 3 Steps To Safety posters is included in this email. You can also find a copy of the poster here.
Please also encourage your local communities to follow any other safety requirements, such as wearing face coverings on public transport, and it is worth checking the Government website www.gov.uk/coronavirus regularly for updates, as national guidance changes frequently.
What we are doing
As part of the East Riding Outbreak Management Plan and the 3 Steps To Safety public health campaign, we are working with businesses, care homes and many other organisations across the East Riding to create a COVID-safe environment.
We are providing businesses and other organisations with guidance about appropriate safety measures and we are asking them to tell us as soon as possible if they get any cases or suspected cases so we can support them as quickly as possible in confining the outbreak.
We are supporting the national NHS Test and Trace service at a local level in the East Riding so that individuals and their households are informed as quickly as possible if they need to self-isolate, to avoid passing the virus to others. Our work with local, regional and national partners will also help us to quickly identify people who have been in close contact with those who have tested positive for the virus and to advise them to self-isolate and get tested if they develop symptoms.
#TogetherEastRiding
If we all follow the 3 Steps To Safety, if we keep doing those simple things like regular and thorough handwashing, respecting social distances and being aware of COVID-19 symptoms in ourselves and others around us, we reduce risk. If we quickly get tested for COVID-19 when we need to and if we self-isolate and stay home when advised to, we reduce risk.
If we don’t do these simple things, we increase risk and increased risk will inevitably lead to more infections, more illness and more tragedies for East Riding families and it could lead to a local lockdown and tighter restrictions on all of us.
By doing the right thing and following the 3 Steps To Safety, we are all helping to keep ourselves, our loved ones and other East Riding residents protected from COVID-19.
More details, as well as copies of the East Riding Outbreak Management Plan and the Humber COVID-19 Prevention and Outbreak Management Framework, are available in the www.eastriding.gov.uk/3stepstosafety section of the council’s website.
Thank you for your continued support.
Best regards
Cllr Richard Burton Caroline Lacey Andy Kingdom
Leader Chief Executive Director of Public Health
#TogetherEastRiding
