Businesses
From Monday 30 November, if a business has a confirmed case within their workplace, they must notify their local authority immediately.
To do this, please call 01702 212497 or email providecommunityaction@southend.gov.uk with details of your business name, address, contact number and anonymised information about the confirmed case. Please also give details of any close business contacts you believe may need to self-isolate too. Our Environmental Health department will then call you back.
Please note that if you have a confirmed case within your business, close contacts of that confirmed case will also need to self-isolate. It is not sufficient to send a worker for a COVID-19 test and if this returns a negative result, for them to continue working within your business premises. A negative test result is not conclusive evidence of non-infection due to the incubation period for transmission. Therefore, all close contacts will be required to self-isolate for 10 days from potential exposure to the virus.
Grants
Staff who are asked to self-isolate may be entitled to financial assistance, either through their employer or through the government.
If you would like support and further guidance in this situation, you can also phone 01702 215005 and speak to our Regulatory Services Team.
Latest Day Service Provider Information
We are supporting our local day service providers to reopen, with planned opening for all on 5th April 2021. This is in line with local and national health and safety regulations. This will also require the social distancing measures and support bubbles being put in place. Whilst regular LFD and PCR testing is undertaken by staff.
Our providers have strict measures to follow and will be required to provide the council with a risk assessment and details of their expected daily business operations.
However as previously advised late last year, Public Health England has identified that the learning disability community is one of the most vulnerable communities and more likely to be more seriously ill or die from COVID-19 than the general population. Our approach is agreed to help protect the Southend learning disability community using all the past and current knowledge available to Public Health.
It was and remains the decision of our Director of Public Health for Southend that individuals can attend only one day service despite the fact that some of these people in the past might have attended up to 3 or 4 different services/venues across the week. This was decided to support the reduction and risk of COVID infection.
The COVID pandemic has not gone away and whilst I know that many restrictions have eased, it is important that we all remain mindful of the vulnerability of the people who attend these day services.
In addition, a further decision of our Director of Public Health is that people who live in care homes or supported living services should not access day services. The reason for this is that there is no routine testing available for those who attend and staff working in these settings. Unfortunately, COVID has come into several of our day services over the past 8 months and the lessons learnt from that have informed the decisions we have made.
We will continue to keep this under regular review. Should the position change and we can relax our guidance or consider the need to tighten restrictions urgently if there was a spike in reinfection rates, then we will communicate this to you.
If you have any queries or would like to speak to someone about the information then please contact Nicola Mickleburgh or Intergrated Commissoning.
Had a call from test and trace?
If you receive a call from someone claiming to represent the Essex and Southend Contact Tracing Service, you can call either of these numbers to verify that the call is genuine: 0300 303 2698 or 01245 904033.
Domestic Abuse
Are you experiencing domestic abuse and would like some information, advice or support?
If you are in danger, please call 999
If you are afraid of further danger if you are overheard calling 999, you can press 55 afterwards and the operator will transfer the call to the relevant police force as an emergency.
Please visit the Domestic Abuse page on Livewell Southend for more information on support available.
Additional information
Family Carers Support during the Coronavirus
Information for Care Providers
Information for South Essex Homes Residents
Visiting our play areas safely
Pharmacies offering prescription deliveries
