Sheffield City Council announces the COVID-19 Sheffield Local Outbreak Control Plan which is designed to help prevent outbreaks of COVID-19 wherever possible and the steps we may need to take to manage them if an outbreak occurs.
The Government has asked each Local Authority to have a local plan in place to prevent and control Coronavirus and have measures in place to deal with a potential outbreak in the city.
Chaired by Leader of Sheffield City Council, Julie Dore, the Outbreak Control Board met for the first time this week to consider carefully how Sheffield will respond to new or changing Government guidance and how this will be done at a local level to control transmission rates and control future outbreaks.
Leader of Sheffield City Council, Julie Dore said: “You may have seen that other areas of the country have had to impose local lockdowns, and we know how worrying this can be. We want to reassure you that in this event we have a local plan for Sheffield. Our local plan builds on our existing health protection plans and puts in place measures, in the first instance to prevent any potential COVID-19 outbreak, but if necessary, our plans will ensure we contain any potential outbreak, within Sheffield.
“To be prepared for the event of an outbreak it is important to make people aware of the specific plans we have in place to respond in the best way we need to at a local level.
“You may have seen that other areas of the country have had to impose local lockdowns. We want to reassure you that in this event we have a local plan for Sheffield. Our local plan builds on our existing health protection plans and puts in place measures to contain any potential COVID-19 outbreak within Sheffield.
“I would like to thank all Sheffielders for continuing to observe essential measures to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 including social distancing, regularly hand washing, as well as self-isolating. By doing so, we are all doing our bit to keep each other safe and well. ”
Director of Public Health at Sheffield City Council Greg Fell, said: “The Sheffield Local Outbreak Control Plan demonstrates that we are well-prepared and that plans are in place on how we will need to respond to a coronavirus incident. This includes continued plans for testing, self-isolation where appropriate, and deep cleaning advised for affected premises. As is now standard practice, any positive cases will be followed up by NHS Test and Trace, with any close contacts of cases informed and advised to self-isolate.
“UK wide, it is clear we are out of the first wave of the coronavirus, but it is far from over and we have to learn to live with it as we will see a rapid spread again if we are not careful. By careful we mean, continuing to wash your hands or use hand sanitiser, keep your distance and observe stickers in shops helping you to observe this safely, wear a face covering if you are travelling on public transport or using a taxi service and continuing to adhere to your social bubble of mixing with no more than two households. Most importantly, if you are feeling poorly or think you have symptoms, please isolate by staying at home and arranging to have a test.
“Although current lockdown restrictions are now being gradually lifted in our city, the pandemic is far from over and it is still present in our communities.
“For our Sheffield Local Outbreak Control Plan to be effective, we need everyone to play their part to prevent transmission.”
To read the Sheffield Local Outbreak Control Plan in full, visit here
