Tandridge district to move into Tier 3 - Very High - Tandridge ...

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Tandridge district to move into Tier 3 – Very High
The Tandridge district will move into Tier 3 (Very High) of the government’s three tier
system for England from Saturday 19 December. The rest of Surrey will also move into Tier
3 on Saturday 19 December, with the exception of Waverley, which will remain in Tier 2.

Under the Local Covid Alert Level system, Tier 3 is for areas with a very high or very
rapidly rising level of infections, where tighter restrictions are in place to slow the spread of
the virus. This aims to reduce household to household transmission.

Tier 3 restrictions mean:

      Bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants are closed except for takeaway, drive-through or
      delivery.
      Shops can stay open and should continue to follow Covid-secure guidelines.
      You should work from home if you can. If you can’t, try to avoid using public
      transport or travelling during busy periods.
      Gyms, leisure and sports facilities remain open, although group exercise classes
      (including fitness and dance) should not take place.
      Accommodation such as hotels, B&Bs, campsites, holiday lets and guest houses
      must close, with some limited exceptions.

Personal care and close contact services like hairdressers and barbers, beauty
      salons, tattoo parlours, nail salons, spas and beauty services, saunas, steam rooms,
      massage parlours and tanning salons can remain open.
      Indoor entertainment venues like soft play, bowling alleys, indoor skating rinks,
      cinemas and theatres must close.
      You can’t socialise with people you don’t live with, or who aren’t in your support
      bubble, in any indoor setting.
      You must not socialise with people you don’t live with, or who aren’t in your support
      bubble, in private gardens or most outdoor public venues.
      You can meet in a group of no more than six people outside (rule of six) in some
      outdoor public spaces, including parks, beaches and countryside accessible by the
      public.

Find out more about the measures that apply in very high alert level areas to help reduce
the spread of Covid-19.

We’ve published answers to some frequently asked questions on our website.

Coronavirus data across Surrey is updated daily on Surrey County Council’s website.

What are the guidelines for Christmas?
Between Wednesday 23 and Sunday 27 December, people in Surrey will be able to make
a Christmas bubble with friends and family, which will allow:

      Up to three households to form a Christmas bubble.
      Christmas bubbles to meet at home, a place of worship or an outdoor public place.
      Existing rules on hospitality and meeting in other venues will remain in place.
      People to travel between tiers and across the whole of the UK without restriction
      within these five days to meet with their bubble.

If you do form a Christmas bubble, you should not meet socially with friends and family you
do not live with in your home or garden unless they are part of your Christmas bubble.

From Monday 28 December Christmas bubbles will no longer apply and we must follow the
guidance for Tier 3. This includes New Year’s Eve.

Support your local shops and businesses
With a week to go until Christmas, we are encouraging residents, through our festive
Backing Business campaign, to shop locally and safely this Christmas. If you’ve not
already done your Christmas shopping or you still have some last minute items to tick off
your list, including your festive food shop, please consider helping out our local businesses
by shopping locally.

Hands - Face - Space
Thank you to everyone who has been following the Covid-19 guidelines to try and keep
coronavirus cases down. We all need to continue to do everything we can to limit the
spread of the virus.

To keep everyone safe please remember:

      Hands – wash your hands regularly and for 20 seconds.
      Face – wear a face covering in indoor settings where social distancing may be
      difficult and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet.
      Space – stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with where possible, or 1
      metre with extra precautions in place (such as wearing face coverings).

Book a test if you have symptoms
Residents with Covid-19 symptoms will be able to get tested, when the Covid-19 mobile
testing unit comes to Oxted from 19 to 23 December.

The testing unit will be in the car park behind the Oxted Health Centre and Oxted Library.
People getting tested should head directly to the testing unit and please do not enter either
the health centre or library. Anyone not familiar with the area can find it by searching for the
postcode RH8 0BQ.

To get a free test, you must have one of the following symptoms:

      A high temperature.
      A new, continuous cough.
      A loss or change in your sense of smell or taste.

Anyone who has been asked to get tested by a local council or is taking part in a
government pilot project is also eligible to get a free test and you can also get a test for
someone you live with if they have symptoms.

Tests can be booked at www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119. Please
don’t visit the testing unit unless you have booked an appointment.

GP-led Covid-19 community vaccination programme
This week the local vaccination service started at a number of community venues across
Surrey, prioritising the over 80s and some vulnerable health and care staff.

These have included Epsom Racecourse, Chertsey Halls, The Westway in Caterham and
St Christopher’s Church in Haslemere, with centres at Woodhatch in Reigate and
Emberbrook Health Centre in Thames Ditton.

Please help the NHS by being patient and not contacting the NHS to ask for a vaccine, you
will be contacted when it’s your turn.

When you are contacted, please do attend your booked appointment. You need both doses
of the vaccine for it to be effective (which will be about seven days after the second dose).

Changes to self-isolation periods
The government has announced a change to the self-isolation period, which has now
reduced from 14 to 10 days. This reduced period of self-isolation applies for both the
confirmed contacts of those who have tested positive, as well as people who return from
countries which are not on the travel corridor list.

Keep your home ventilated
Did you know, letting fresh air into indoor
spaces can reduce the risk of infection from
coronavirus by over 70%?

Open windows for short, sharp bursts of 10
to 15 minutes regularly throughout the day
and leave windows open a small amount
when you are at home.

This will remove any infected particles lingering in the room. Airing indoor spaces is
particularly important when:

      We have visitors (when permitted) or tradespeople in our homes.
      Someone from a support bubble is meeting another household indoors.
      A care worker is seeing a patient indoors.
      Someone in the household has the virus, as this can help prevent transmission to
      other household members.

Safe use of places of worship and special religious
services and gatherings
The government guidance on the safe use of places of worship and special religious
services and gatherings has been updated to reflect the local restriction tier system.

Carol singing
As Covid-19 spreads from person to person through small droplets, aerosols and through
direct contact, singing, shouting and physical activity increases the risk of transmission.

If you’re involved with carol singing this year, please remember to take steps to reduce the
risk of transmission, including limiting the number of people participating as far as possible.

Carol singing or carol services can take place if all attendees follow advice in the
suggested principles of safer singing and guidance for the Performing Arts developed by
an expert group coordinated by Public Health England. This applies to both professional
and amateur choirs.

Remember to plan ahead for your medication
Community pharmacies will be open across Surrey, but will be operating different opening
hours during the Christmas period. Most pharmacies will be closed on Christmas Day (25
December), Bank Holiday Monday (28 December) and New Year’s Day (1 January 2021).

Remember to plan ahead to make sure you have the healthcare and medication you need
during the festive period.

Helping a child in poverty smile this Christmas
Do you know a family which is struggling this Christmas? Do you know any children aged 0
to 16 who will not receive a gift, perhaps because their parents have lost their jobs or have
accumulated debt because of Covid-19?

The Caterham Salvation Army is here to help and has been collecting gift donations from
residents for families who can’t afford to buy gifts for their children this Christmas.

If you’d like to receive a donated gift, or know a family who might, please contact the
Salvation Army on 01883 330718 or by e-mailing caterham@salvationarmy.org.uk.

Four Parish Response Community Support Fund
The Four Parish Response Community Support Fund aims to support families and anyone
struggling to cope financially during the Covid-19 pandemic, from families with young
children to those who have lost their jobs, are self-employed or furloughed, or older people
on their own.

This Christmas, the Support Fund can help with:

      Food supplies and hot meals deliveries.
      Christmas at home – three course dinner delivered with all the trimmings, treats and
      gifts.
      Fuel and funding grants.
      A hot meal and play session at the Arc.

If any of the schemes could help you, your family, a friend or neighbour, please e-
mail info@thewestway.org, visit https://thewestway.org or call 01883 347230.

If you would like to make a donation to support any of these schemes, please visit
https://thewestway.org.

The schemes are being run by the Westway, Caterham Foodbank and the Salvation Army,
sponsored by Waitrose, The Arc, Co-op, Sharps Fish and Chips, Tesco, Morrisons and
Knights Garden Centres.

The Four Parish Response is made up of Caterham Hill, Caterham Valley, Chaldon and
Whyteleafe Parish Councils.

Help support our most vulnerable residents
The Community Foundation for Surrey is asking for donations to its Coronavirus Response
Fund to extend the support it has been giving vulnerable residents this year through the
festive season and beyond.

The generosity of local donors and supporters has enabled the award of grants to over 200
Surrey charities and voluntary groups, supporting people directly impacted by the
pandemic by providing food and essentials, reaching out to lonely older people, supporting
people suffering from domestic abuse and providing mental health support.

Help understand the pandemic’s impact on 50-70 year
olds and win a tablet
Citizens Online, an independent charity working to ensure people aren’t excluded from the
online world, has been commissioned by the Centre for Ageing Better to understand how
people aged 50-70 have used the internet during the pandemic to stay in touch with the
latest information and guidance.

Both organisations would appreciate the views of residents through a short survey, with
participants in with a chance of winning a tablet.

Have your say about the Council’s budget

On 16 December the Strategy & Resources Committee agreed the Council’s draft budget
for 2021-2022 and Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2023/2024.

Despite a number of financial challenges, we anticipate we will set a balanced budget for
2021/2022, once we imminently receive the final details of our funding settlement from the
government.

We have also planned to:

       Build General Fund Reserves by £0.5m each year, to provide financial resilience
       and some flexibility in how we deliver services.
       Create a contingency (£0.1m) to allow for any additional unforeseen costs
       throughout the year.
       Ensure we can deliver services within available resources.

We are now inviting residents to give their views on the budget by e-mailing
customerservices@tandridge.gov.uk, or writing to Budget Consultation, Tandridge District
Council, Council Offices, 8 Station Road East, Oxted RH8 0BT by 17 January 2021.

More detailed budgets for each committee will be published from 11 January and these will
be considered at the Planning Policy, Community Services, Housing and Strategy &
Resources Committees.

Any comments on the draft budget will be fed into the final budget and council tax setting
report for the Strategy & Resources Committee on 2 February and approved by Full
Council on 11 February.

Voting safely at next year’s elections
Residents will go to the polls on 6 May 2021 to have their say on who represents them on
issues affecting day to day life in the district. Voting will take place in the County, District,
Parish and Police and Crime Commissioner elections and residents in Caterham, Chaldon
and Whyteleafe will also be able to vote in the Neighbourhood Planning Referendum.

You’ll be able to take part in these elections in a number of ways, either by voting in a
polling station, by post, or by appointing someone to vote on your behalf, which is known
as a proxy vote.

Although these elections aren’t happening until May next year, plans are already in place
to help you stay safe while casting your votes at polling stations, using measures
introduced during the current pandemic, such as the use of hand sanitiser, face coverings
and clear floor markings.

Residents thinking about voting by post can apply now to make sure their application is
processed early and their postal vote can be sent more quickly. To be able to have your
say at the elections, residents need to be registered to vote. The easiest way to register is
online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

Keep fraudsters out
Doorstep crime increases during the winter
months as bogus callers and rogue traders
try to take advantage of our need for a safe,
warm and dry home during bad weather.

Rogue traders will try to convince residents
they need work done to their homes and will
produce poor quality work or no work at all.

Don’t open up your home to doorstep callers. Trading Standards approved traders can be
found on www.traders4u.co.uk. You can get one of their No Cold Calling sticker packs free
of charge at surreycc.gov.uk/tradingstandards. You can also contact Trading Standards on
0808 223 113 if you have concerns about a trader who has visited your home.

Preparing for EU Exit
While 2020 has been dominated by the pandemic, the end of the year also signals the UK
exit from the European Union and we have been preparing to minimise the impact.

One of the most likely, short term impacts is the potential of increased, slower HGV traffic
as a result of the rule changes at the border. The Surrey’s Local Resilience Forum (SLRF)
is co-ordinating planning across the south, in conjunction with neighbouring counties and
central government, to help keep our road network moving.

Other preparations have included securing our supply chains for food, fuel and medical
supplies, especially for our social care providers to protect our most vulnerable residents.

The Surrey Local Resilience Forum (SLRF), is a multi-agency partnership made up of
representatives from local public services, including the Emergency Services, Local
Authorities, NHS England and the Environment Agency.

Thank you for subscribing
Thank you for subscribing to receive this e-newsletter. We hope you find it useful in giving
you the updates and advice you need, particularly during the pandemic. Due to the
Christmas break, we won’t be issuing an e-newsletter next week.

We hope you have a good festive break and a happy and healthy 2021.

Upcoming events
A list of upcoming events is available on our website, with a range of online activities taking
place over the next month.

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