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Writer's pictureCllr Paul Wray
Aug 31, 20207 min read

Hunslet and Riverside Local News and Coronavirus Updates 31/8/20


This is my latest roundup of local news and Coronavirus updates for Hunslet and Riverside residents. There are several links to more detailed information from the Government, the Council and others within the post. In this update you will find:


  • Cases, Mortality and Infection Rates

  • Outbreak Management Update

  • Face Coverings in Schools

  • Self-Isolation Payments

  • Travel Corridor Update

  • Falling Ill in England while on Holiday

  • Updated Public Health England Action Cards

  • Waste Management Consultation

  • Additional information for Schools

  • Parking Charges

  • Leeds Housing Communal Lounge

  • Leeds Museums and Galleries

  • Leeds Children’s Mayor

  • Eviction Ban

  • Leeds Festival of Kindness, Compassion and Wellbeing

  • Translated Advice Videos

  • Upcoming Community Events

  • Live Q&A Events


Previous updates can be found here: Local News Summary

 

Cases, Mortality and Infection Rate: In Leeds, as of at 17:00 on 27/8/20, the total lab confirmed Covid-19 cases within Leeds were 4,419. As of 29/8/20 the Leeds 7 day infection rate was 21.2 per 100,000. The 7 day positivity rate was 2.3%. There have been 660 deaths registered in Leeds due to the virus:

  • 647 (98%) Leeds residents

  • 361 (54.70%) in hospitals

  • 263 (39.85%) in care homes

  • 12 (1.82%) in a hospice

  • 24 (3.64%) in their own home.

 

Outbreak Management Update: Across the whole of Leeds, there are currently no care home outbreaks, with 6 care homes receiving support following a very small numbers of positive results following whole home care testing. There are no new school or childcare incidents, and there are three workplaces (other than the Greggs depot) that are being supported, all with fewer than two cases. In all cases there is compliance.


A mobile testing unit (MTU) will be in Bramley this week to support the communities in LS13 following the outbreak at Greggs. The Council are also targeting communications messages at younger people over the bank holiday weekend and working closely with West Yorkshire Police to respond to any reports of prohibited gatherings.

Mobile Testing Unit deployments for the start of next week are as follows:

Monday & Tuesday: Fearnville Leisure Centre

Wednesday: Bramley Housing Office (202 Town St, Bramley, Leeds LS13 2EP). A request has been made that this unit remains on site for 5 days, but the Council is awaiting confirmation.

All opening times are 10am to 4pm. Appointments can be booked via www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.

 

Face Coverings in Schools: Guidance on face coverings in schools sets out that secondary schools and colleges have discretion to decide whether face coverings should be mandatory in communal areas like corridors and stairwells where it may be harder to maintain physical distancing. In local lockdown areas, face coverings will be mandatory in communal spaces. Face coverings will not be required in classrooms and the new advice does not apply to primary schools. Colleagues in Children & Families are drawing up new guidance to reflect this policy development, which will be issued to schools and shared with parents via social media as soon as possible.

 

Self-Isolation Payments: A new payment scheme for people on low incomes who need to self-isolate and cannot work from home, and who live in areas with high rates of Covid-19, will be launched on Tuesday 1 September. Eligible individuals who test positive with the virus to receive £130 for their 10-day period of self-isolation. Other members of their household, who have to self-isolate for 14 days, will be entitled to a payment of £182.

 

Travel Corridor Update: Jamaica, the Czech Republic and Switzerland are to be removed from the travel corridor list. People arriving from these countries will need to self-isolate for two weeks.

 

Falling Ill in England while on Holiday: The Coronavirus FAQ document (what you can and can’t do) has been updated to include guidance on what to do if you fall ill on holiday in England.

 

pdated Public Health England Action Cards: PHE has added new Action Cards, which give advice on reporting outbreaks in different settings, and assets to support the safe marking of Ashura this weekend, a period of mourning observed by Shia Muslims.

 

Waste Management Consultation: Defra have produced assets for sharing online to support its campaign encouraging people to Respect the Outdoors, and have launched a consultation on the updated waste management plan for England.

 

Additional information for Schools: As we prepare for schools re-opening, bulletins to heads have restarted, sharing key messages and thanking them for their support with exam results and their preparations for the new term. Key messages from recent bulletins include:

  • A request about when each year group is expected to return to be published clearly on school websites, as well as some information about the measures that will be in place to keep pupils safe. Schools have been asked to provide us with information about when all their pupils will be back in school.

  • Attendance advice setting out that school attendance is now mandatory, and advice for children and young people who were previously shielding. DfE has created a new category of non-attendance for circumstances related to Covid-19, where pupils do not attend school because doing so would be contrary to PHE advice or prohibited in law. This type of non-attendance will not be counted as an absence.

  • Advice about planning back to school transport and ensuring pupils’ safety, in line with the Government’s school transport guidance . New school transport timetables and safety guidance is available here and Metro are doing lots of proactive communications- see their Facebook.

  • A summary of Government guidance covering the re-opening of schools and guidance on delivery of remote learning. In the event of a disruption to face to face education due to coronavirus DfE will make digital devices available for years 3-11 pupils who would not otherwise be able to access an appropriate device at home.

  • The NHS flu vaccination programme will be available to all Year 7 pupils this year, and schools have been urged to encourage parents to give permission for their child to have the flu vaccine.

  • The Government funds promised to help students catch up on missed learning will be calculated on a per pupil basis and will be paid in three tranches, with mainstream schools to receive £80 for each pupil in years reception through to 11. Special, AP and hospital schools will be provided with £240 for each place for the 2020 to 2021 academic year. Schools are free to use the money as one sum and to determine how best to use it to support those who need it most, but will need to evidence how the money is being used, which may be considered as part of Ofsted visits in autumn.

  • Ofqual has published its decisions, following consultation, on how GCSE and A-Level subjects can be accessed in 2021.

  • A reminder of the uniform exchange partnership between LCC and Zero Waste Leeds, and a Facebook group for parents/carers to exchange uniform.

  • Government back to school guidance for parents and carers.

  • Schools and FE institutions will be receiving a free delivery of a small amount of PPE from DHSC, including clinical face masks, aprons, gloves, visors and hand sanitiser to help respond to any suspected Covid-19 cases.

 

Parking Charges: Full parking charges will resume from 1/9/20 in all parking spaces (including evenings and Sundays), ending the promotion that was introduced on 4/7/20. However, free parking for frontline city centre NHS and social care staff will continue.

 

Leeds Housing Communal Lounges: Steps are being taking to gradually re-open communal lounges in Retirement Life sheltered accommodation schemes, in line with Covid-secure guidelines, to give tenants the opportunity to socialise as we move into autumn. Each buildings residents will be contact when theirs reopens.

 

Leeds Museums and Galleries: All sites have now re-opened. Some opening hours have changed and some visitor routes are currently more limited to ensure staff and visitor safety. Full details can be found on the Leeds Museums & Galleries’ website. Additionally the service continues to grow its digital offer and last week launched on Google Arts & Culture. Summary of opening hours are as follows:

  • Leeds Art Gallery, Tiled Hall Café and Visit Leeds & Art Gallery Shop: Tues-Sat: 10:00-16:00, Sun-Mon: closed

  • Lotherton (including the Museum, Wildlife World, Café and grounds): Daily: 10:00-17:00, Museum: 10:00-16:00

  • Temple Newsam: House: Tues-Sun, 11:00-16:00 (closed Mon) | Farm: 10:00-17:00 daily

  • Leeds Industrial Museum: Tue-Fri: 10:00-17:00, Sat-Sun: 13:00-17:00, Mon: closed

  • Kirkstall Abbey: Tue-Sun: 10:00-16:00, Mon: closed

  • Abbey House Museum: Wed-Sun, 10:00-12:00 & 13:00-16:00, Sat 12:00-16:00, Mon & Tues: closed

  • Leeds Discovery Centre: By appointment

  • Leeds City Museum and Café: Tues – Fri: 12:00-18:00, Sat & Sun: 12:00-17:00, Mon: closed

  • Thwaite Watermill: Tue-Fri: 10:00-16:30 (Leeds school holidays only), Sat-Sun: 12:00-16:00, Mon: closed

 

Leeds Children’s Mayor: Voting has opened to elect the next Leeds Children’s Mayor. The twelve finalists and their manifesto ideas can be viewed here, and children and young people aged 18 and under are invited to cast their vote by 12:00 on 16/10/20. The newly elected Children’s Mayor will be announced by Lord Mayor Councillor Eileen Taylor at a civic reception event on 20/10/20.

 

Eviction Ban: The ban on evictions has been extended by 4 weeks (from 21/8/20), and a new 6-month minimum notice period introduced until at least 31/3/21. Once eviction hearings restart, the judiciary will prioritise the most serious cases including those involving anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse.

 

Leeds Festival of Kindness, Compassion and Wellbeing: takes place online from 6/9/20 September to 12/9/20. The festival includes a range of webinars, videos, new performance releases, interviews, panel discussions and challenging conversations around a variety of themes, including self-kindness, kinder relationships, kinder businesses, kinder spaces, kinder communities and being kinder to the planet. All events are free and are accessed via Zoom- registrations are now open through www.kinderleeds.org.

 

Translated Advice Videos: Teams have been busy helping to get key coronavirus messages out to all communities and emphasising the important role communities can play in reducing spread of the virus. In addition, a series of videos have been created in which local health professionals share key coronavirus messages in some of our main community languages:

 

Upcoming Community Events:

If you have a community event you'd like me to share, please let me know. The events must be non-party political and for the whole community. I'll also offer to host the Facebook event page if your group does not have its own Facebook Page etc. to do so.

 

Live Q&A Events: Past event can be re-watched here. The next event(s) are below:

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