You may have heard on the news this morning that the Government has issued updated guidance for areas which have seen an increase in cases of the Indian variant of Coronavirus (without warning or announcement). The guidance covers the following areas:
- Bedford Borough Council
- Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
- Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
- Burnley Borough Council
- Kirklees Council
- Leicester City Council
- London Borough of Hounslow
- North Tyneside Council
The updated guidance for these areas says:
To help stop the spread, you should take particular caution when meeting anyone outside your household or support bubble.
In the areas listed above, wherever possible, you should try to:
- meet outside rather than inside where possible
- keep 2 metres apart from people that you don’t live with (unless you have formed a support bubble with them), this includes friends and family you don’t live with
- avoid travelling in and out of affected areas unless it is essential, for example for work (if you cannot work from home) or education
You should also:
- Get tested twice a week for free and isolate if you are positive
- Continue to work from home if you can
- Get vaccinated when you are offered it, and encourage others to do so as well
You should get tested for COVID-19. This includes:
- Arranging to have a PCR test if you have symptoms of COVID-19
- Participating in surge testing in your local area
- Getting regular rapid tests if you do not have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19)
You should self-isolate immediately if you have symptoms or a positive test result for COVID-19. There is financial support if you’re off work because of coronavirus.
You can find the guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do
