Archive COVID-19 document
This document was published in July 2020, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Data was correct at the time of publication, but regulations and advice in force, and services available, may have since changed.
In the event of a new outbreak of a variant of COVID-19 with a severe and widespread impact on public health and services, we would expect to update or replace the Plan.
For the latest information on provisions to manage COVID-19 at a national level, please visit the GOV.UK website.
Update: Outbreak management for other high-risk places and vulnerable groups
Steps we have taken
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Making 263 Test and Trace Support Payments of £500, since the scheme was launched
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Providing targeted communications in communities with higher rates of infection
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Appointing local COVID-19 Safety Officers to monitor Bath city centre and key locations within the city, or town centres where issues with public gatherings or non-compliance with social distancing measures have been evident
What’s next?
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Preparing for the COVID-19 secure reopening of facilities, depending on the “roadmap” timetable
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Supporting employers and staff to return to work safely when restrictions ease
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Engaging with the voluntary and community sector to share information about COVID-19 using trusted voices and in accessible formats
Relevance of this theme
Some groups and locations within our communities are at higher risk of outbreaks. This may be due to a range of factors such as a greater number of people using a location and a difficulty in maintaining social distancing guidelines, as well as individual ones such as age or pre-existing health problems.
For the purposes of our plan, we are using the following definitions:
- Places: A discrete building-based setting (eg a place of worship, employment site, hotel or university).
- Locations: A geographical area that may regularly attract groups of people or experience higher numbers of cases (eg. river swimming spots, informal green spaces, neighbourhoods).
- Communities: Groups of people who are linked through social or geographical relationships (eg boaters, homeless people).
A key issue for responding to outbreaks linked to these contexts is that knowing the residency address of a positive case will help to identify clusters of cases, but will be insufficient for wider public health action and instead it will be crucial to identify these potential shared routes of exposure (work, place of worship, etc) during contact tracing. Data from a smart phone App on where exposure took place could add significantly to an ability to track shared sources of exposure in these contexts.
Care homes, schools, and early years settings are higher risk locations but are covered in detail elsewhere and are not discussed further in this section.
NHS Trusts (including mental health) and other local hospitals are also higher risk locations. However, there is a national and local expectation that they lead on prevention and outbreak control in their sites themselves. This is of course done in partnership with the wider system, especially in the event of an escalation in cases at an NHS Trust site.
A list of higher-risk places, locations and communities is set out in Appendix 1 (in development). The list is not necessarily exhaustive, and will be added to during the coming months if necessary.
For each of these, the Public Health team holds a list of key contacts so that we are able to communicate swiftly with any or all of them following new guidance or in response to a case.
Description of the response so far in identifying and planning how to manage high-risk places and communities in B&NES
As part of the system-level approach in B&NES, we have provided regular communications of national and local information, and contact details for further guidance, to a wide range of stakeholders. B&NES council’s public website has a dedicated webpage with the latest information and advice on coronavirus on the following topics:
- Individual residents
- Help for vulnerable people
- Information about Council services during COVID-19
- Help for residents
- Help for businesses
- Help for parents and carers.
Information is proactively published on the council’s social media pages and there is also a dedicated email inbox which the public, schools, employers and care settings can use for COVID-19-related questions: COVID-19incidentcomms@bathnes.gov.uk A stakeholder contact list has also been used for regular updates on local and national guidance and developments.
A key aspect of the local response has been the development of Compassionate Communities B&NES. More on this is provided in Theme 6: Communications and Engagement, later in this plan.
Description of the LA's relationship with, and responsibilities to, the different types of providers in this setting
All of the actions described earlier in this section have been supported through ongoing liaison between the following groups:
- Specialist Public Health staff
- Wider council and CCG officers who have direct links with particular groups and settings
- Representatives from relevant front line or local organisations
B&NES council, in partnership with BSW CCG, commissions Virgin Care to provide community heath and care services in B&NES, and Virgin have worked within this remit to partner local third sector organisations and deliver the Compassionate Communities support described above.
The B&NES Public Health team have worked closely within the B&NES COVID19 Community Health & Care Multi-Agency Response Hub to provide both strategic and specialist health protection support to the local system.
Approach to prevention and management of COVID-19
The approach for each group or location will be very similar to that set out for care homes and schools.
Higher risk locations: other issues to be considered
Parks and outdoor spaces are generally low-risk, but some will need to be considered specifically, for example playgrounds and those open spaces with limited room for social distancing, or restricted points of access.
Community events, both indoor and outdoor, are important parts of the cultural and economic life of B&NES, but may carry high risk, depending on the specific circumstances of the events and the ability to manage them safely.
Finally, streets with a high density of student accommodation or private HMOs may require some additional attention.