Today’s update includes:
- Requests and Offers from the Stroud Coronavirus Community Response team and beyond
- Summary of local news
- Key national and international news
Requests and Offers from the Stroud Coronavirus Community Response team and beyond
- Sarah Dixon has alerted us about potential grants available – GRCC compile a list of grants available for all kinds of sectors and groups affected by coronavirus. I believe this list is regularly updated and released as a newsletter by [GRCC](https://www.facebook.com/groups/stroudcorona/permalink/257300152124413/)
- Rachel Fairburn is asking if you live in the Dursley area they are looking for volunteers to sew scrubs. [Jessica Anna’s Scrubs for Gloucestershire](https://www.facebook.com/groups/255528625575382/)
- Do call your GP if you need help for problems other than coronavirus symptoms (for which, go online or call 111). Doctors and hospitals are concerned that people aren’t getting in touch soon enough.[NHS](https://www.facebook.com/groups/stroudcorona/permalink/257299775457784/)
- We now have 4225 members. Please encourage your local friends to join us. Let’s get fact-checked news about the coronavirus out to as many people in the area as we can, and make sure everyone in Stroud District who needs support can get it.
Local updates:
- There are now 166 confirmed deaths of patients who had tested positive for coronavirus in Gloucestershire – a daily increase of 3 on the 163 confirmed deaths on Friday. There have been 1084 confirmed cases in Gloucestershire as of 9pm Saturday 25 April, a daily increase of 31. (No figures found for Sunday)
- LEADER’S DIARY: Council has entered a ‘strange new normal’ Despite some reduced capacity and the obvious restrictions on site visits, officers are still working on planning applications, enforcement and building control for example. This week Stroud District Council sent a letter to every household in the district as part of our comprehensive response to help everyone through the Coronavirus pandemic. People who need help now or in the future, and those who want to help, can find out how to access what they need, and the letter contains useful advice.And some good news: The lockdown has led to less road traffic, so air pollution levels have dropped.[Stroud District Council](https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/18406094.leaders-diary-council-entered-strange-new-normal/0
- Tesco introduces major changes for staff and customers amid coronavirus lockdown [Gloucestershire Live](https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/tesco-introduces-major-changes-staff-4070418)
National news:
- As of 9am 26 April, 669,850 tests have concluded, with 29,058 tests on 25 April. 543,413 people have been tested of which 152,840 tested positive. As of 5pm on 25 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 20,732 have sadly died. (DHSC Twitter) this means a further 413 people have died in UK hospitals.
- The latest daily death figure marks the lowest number that has been reported in April. However, experts have previously warned against over-interpreting daily statistics, as they often reflect reporting delays, particularly over weekends – so do not relate directly to the number of deaths that occurred on a certain day. And these figures do not include deaths in care homes, in their own homes and the community.
- UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab urges caution on easing lockdown
- It was announced today that the military will begin testing essential workers in mobile units operating at sites in “hard to reach” areas, including care homes. Eight of the new mobile units are already stationed at locations across the country, including Salisbury, Southport and Teesside, with plans to extend the scheme to at least 96 units by the start of May. BBC England spoke to care homes and companies across the country, who between them employ nearly 18,000 staff and have almost 13,000 residents. Many said they had seen no testing at all, while others have spoken of struggles to access official test centres. [BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52418630)
- PM Boris Johnson will return to work after the weekend.
- More than 2m operations cancelled as NHS fights Covid-19. Backlog of procedures in England could cost NHS £3bn to work through after crisis [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/26/more-than-two-million-operations-cancelled-as-nhs-fights-covid-19)
- Public trust plummets in Britain’s handling of pandemic, new poll reveals. Doubts focus on failures over testing and whether government acted quickly enough at outset [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/26/trust-wanes-in-uk-ministers-handling-of-coronavirus-pandemic-poll)
International developments:
- There have been now been over 2.9 million cases confirmed worldwide (2934141) with 205143 people confirmed to have sadly died. [John Hopkins University](https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html)
- Spain is easing lockdown and has had a smaller number of deaths since 20 March, with 288 fatalities. Children in Spain under 14 are now allowed to go outside for the first time in six weeks
- The US can expect to continue social distancing over the summer, top health official Dr Deborah Birx says (BBC). Donald Trump considers replacing health and human services chief, Alex Azar, because of early missteps in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. A White House spokesman told the newspaper that there was no plan to replace him. [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/26/coronavirus-latest-at-a-glance)
- The French PM will publish a strategy to ease lockdown on Tuesday (Guardian)
- Beijing cracks down on ‘uncivilised’ behaviour such as not covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, in a new set of regulations to improve public hygiene and combat the coronavirus [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/26/coronavirus-latest-at-a-glance)
Notes
Please remember we have a (growing) list of resources to support your emotional and mental health during this time on our website.
Thanks to everyone who helped create this update through our Facebook group. If you submit posts, we will often decline posting them to the discussion directly and instead hold them till the single daily summary – to try to reduce the number of posts in the feed and make it easier for people to follow the information. Please continue to submit posts to admins for this purpose with a flag REQUEST / OFFER / UPDATE / QUESTION