Agenda item

Further to the update on 7 July 2020, the Leader and the Chief Executive of the Council were invited to provide a further update on the County Council’s response to and recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

The Leader introduced the report advising that since the report was written there had been developments nationally and locally around COVID.  It was highlighted that:

·         COVID infection rates had started to increase

·         The Council had reverted to the internal Gold (led by John Hobbs, Director of Economy & Infrastructure) and Silver Command (led by Rachel Hill, Strategic Commissioner, Major Projects) emergency response with twice weekly meetings

·         The Local resilience Forum had not stood up its arrangements yet but was ready to react when needed

·         The return to Worcestershire schools had gone well with overall attendance levels at 90% (96% for vulnerable learners)

·         There were some challenges around testing and additional tests had been sought for key workers.

The Chief Executive added that it would be key for the Council moving forward to ensure staff resilience especially for key individuals and that the Council was working with and providing mutual support to nearest neighbour authorities in this regard.

During the discussion, the following main points were discussed:

·         In response to various questions about the problems associated with COVID testing, the Board was advised there were 3 pillars of testing:

1.    NHS Testing where there was a medical need eg prior to an operation

2.    Community Testing for the wider population eg if symptomatic

3.    Research Testing for statistical purposes

·         There should be sufficient tests available for those people who were symptomatic as they were prioritised over those who were asymptomatic

·         Staff and residents in care homes were being regularly tested

·         It was agreed that the process for testing would be circulated to all Councillors so that they could respond to  residents as necessary

·         Initially some schools had year group bubbles which had meant if there was an outbreak a whole year group would need to self-isolate, the latest guidance was smaller bubbles ie classes was a better approach

·         A Member expressed concern about false negative test results, which could result in the spread of COVID and suggested that the guidance should signpost anyone with symptoms to isolate irrespective of the test result

·         In order to ensure Members were kept up to date with the number of cases in local schools, it was suggested that the detail should be added to the members regular COVID update bulletins

·         In response to a Members question about the guidance available to schools, the Chief Executive reassured Members that schools had various standard operating procedures and guidance available to them and all had carried out risk assessments

·         In response to a Members point about the importance of ensuring that  the Council’s website was updated regularly and quickly with accurate information and with various types of communication to reach all residents, the Leader advised that there would be an increased focus on resourcing the Communications Department to ensure that this happened

·         Signposting about how to access the walk-in test centres were needed, there was a misconception in the community that an appointment was not needed to access this facility

·         A Member referred to the £3m funding for the Here2Help Business Programme set up in response to COVID to assist local businesses to recover, adapt, develop and support future resilience and it was agreed that the Board would be provided with information about the type of support that was available.