Today’s update includes:
- Requests & Offers from the Stroud Coronavirus Community Response team & beyond
- Summary of key local, national and international news
Requests, Offers and Updates
- We’ve shared a useful website that provides simple explanations of virus spread and measures that are effective in stopping this, together with a tool to explore modelling different results from different actions.
- Tanya Smith asked the question “Anyone got a good pattern for mask making?” And got some great responses and…
- Debbie Cox asked for links for home made masks and again got some really useful responses.
- Reminding you that the Gloucestershire Covid-19 testing site at Oxstalls Tennis Centre in Gloucester has been extended to run until the end of Tuesday 26 May (the dates exclude Saturday 23 May and Sunday 24 May) “Everyone aged five and over who is showing coronavirus symptoms is now eligible for a swab test to find out if they have the virus. People can register for a test at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus, after checking their symptoms. Those in England and Wales who do not have access to the internet, or who have difficulty with the digital portals, will be able to ring a new 119 service to book their test.
- We shared Shane Clark’s call out: Can anyone help a local Ambulance station with their plans for an outdoor area to relax?
- James Bee shared that The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is marking International Clinical Trials Day today, 20 May. They shared stories “from some of these volunteers about their experience of getting involved. We want to hand over to anyone who has or is playing a part in research, helping them to say why they feel health research is important and what a difference it can make.”
- We shared an interesting article from openDemocracy calling for the narrative to be changed, away from comparing the response to pandemic to ‘war’.
- Sarah Dixon shared ContractStores legal updates on how Covid is affecting businesses. This update from Helen Boddy gives some guidance for employers on bringing staff back into the workplace.
- Arlingham Villagers shared Sammantha Laws request to Help Lotty. She has written a song to help raise funds for the intensive care unit at Gloucester Hospital.
- Sarah Grainger posted as Stroud Employment Law: Following today’s call to furloughed workers to “Pick for Britain”, please be aware that you must seek your employer’s permission before doing so. You must remain available to return to your job with reasonable notice (notice required should be in your furlough letter). Any queries, please contact her on 01453 763384.
- Asha Emma McCarthy wrote a beautiful calm song at the start of lockdown and it’s been shared by singing mamas choir UK to mark the start of mental health awareness week. Really lovely, do have a listen,
- Don’t miss the local online careers event on 20th and 21st May.
- You may know that we are making a directory of local businesses? If you are looking for entertainers, we list local providers in our online directory. You can check it out for a quick route to get the services you need. If you are a local service provider you can add your biz to the directory.
- We now have 4,327 members. We welcomed 26 new members this week. Please invite your friends to grow this community. And please do introduce yourself and let us know anything you’d like to see in the group related to coronavirus and how we can work together to get through the pandemic and its impacts.
- Please take a look at the Group Purpose and Guidelines if you haven’t read them recently.
Summary of key local, national and international news
We are now providing our summary of local, national and international statistical data on a weekly basis rather than daily
- Gloucestershire Live shared a behind the scenes look at the local Coronavirus testing unit.
- A coronavirus hotspot which hasn’t peaked yet is just over the Gloucestershire border in Ross on Wye
- Stroud News and Journal report that Cheltenham cricket festival has been cancelled
- PM pledges UK-wide tracing by 1 June (The Guardian)
- The Justice Secretary says Govt policy was to protect NHS ahead of care homes due to limited testing capacity (Daily Record)
- UK universities facing £760m hit as one in five students plan to defer (The Guardian)
- UK scientists must not be blamed for giving advice, says Royal Society head in an exclusive by the Guardian. The intervention comes after Thérèse Coffey appeared to scapegoat scientists for response to coronavirus crisis
- The government plans to end the virtual parliamentary proceedings and force MPs to return to Westminster in early June (PoliticsHome)
- Fears over capacity for social distancing as England faces 29c weather (The Guardian)
- The Spanish government has confirmed that the wearing of face masks will be compulsory from Thursday in enclosed areas and on streets when the required two-metre physical distancing protocols cannot be followed. While children under six will be exempt from the order, masks are recommended for children aged three to five. People with breathing difficulties are also exempt from using masks. (ElPais)
- Rolls-Royce is to cut at least 9,000 jobs from its global staff of 52,000, due to an anticipated fall in air travel following the coronavirus pandemic. The British company, which supplies engines for large aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, said the job losses would predominantly affect its civil aerospace business, plus its central support functions. (Al Jazeera)
- The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said on Wednesday the “Most African governments and organisations took in time very brave prevention measures which provide a lesson for some developed nations that did not.” Africa so far has recorded over 92,348 cases with 2,918 deaths, and 36,117 recoveries as at May 20, 2020. (AfricaFeeds)
- New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has suggested employers consider a four-day working week and other flexible working options as a way to boost tourism and help employees address persistent work/life balance (The Guardian)
- South Korean high schools opened on Wednesday for the first time since the pandemic began (Time)
- “Member states have backed a resolution strongly supportive of the World Health Organization, after Donald Trump issued a fresh broadside against the UN body, giving it 30 days to make unspecified changes or lose out on US funding. None of the WHO’s 194 member states raised objections to the resolution brought by the EU on behalf of more than 100 countries. The resolution backs the WHO’s leadership and said there needed to be an investigation into the global response to the pandemic.” (The Guardian)
Notes
Please remember we have a (growing) list of resources to support your emotional and mental health during this time on our website. The following numbers may be useful:
- Samaritans: 116 123
- Domestic Violence Hotline: 0808 2000 247
- Mind: 0300 123 3393
- Age UK: 0800 169 6565
- Childline: 0800 1111.
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