News

Cambridgeshire County Council update 24th June 2020

Countywide Co-ordination Hub celebrates its 100-day anniversary

Yesterday (Tuesday 23 June), the Countywide Co-ordination Hub marked its 100-day anniversary.

The hub launched in March to support residents identified as shielding and being of the highest risk to coronavirus. Currently there are 19,058 people on the shielded list for Cambridgeshire with 7,653 of these receiving regular help from the hub.

The hub was featured on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire’s Drivetime show yesterday, which included an interview with Phil Carter, an adults safeguarding trainer who has been redeployed into the hub to support those on the shielded list.

You can listen back to to the interview here at 2hrs 12min  on BBC Sounds .

To contact the countywide hub visit www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/coronavirus or www.peterborough.gov.uk/coronavirus

It can also be contacted Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, and Saturdays 9am to 1pm on 0345 045 5219.


Beware of Test and Trace scams

Residents are being urged to be on their guard for a phone scam involving NHS Test and Trace.

Test and Trace has been launched to help track cases of coronavirus in our communities to limit the spread of the virus.

As part of it, contact tracers work with people who are confirmed to have the virus, to identify people they have had close contact with. Contact is then made with those people asking them to self isolate.

The council has been made aware of a scam operating which involves people being called and asked to pay for a test using their bank card. Contact tracers will never ask you to make any form of payment. They will also never:

  • Ask any details about your bank account
  •  Ask you for any passwords or PINS
  •   Ask you to download anything

Contract tracers will:

  • Call you from 0300 013 5000
  • Send you text messages from ‘NHStracing’
  • Ask you to sign into the NHS test and trace contact-tracing website
  • Ask for your full name and date of birth to confirm your identity, and postcode to offer support while self-isolating
  • Ask about the coronavirus symptoms you have been experiencing
  • Ask you to provide the name, telephone number and/or email address of anyone you have had close contact with in the 2 days prior to your symptoms starting
  • Ask if anyone you have been in contact with is under 18 or lives outside of England

A user friendly guide to Test and Trace is available on the council’s website.


Stay Active if you’re at risk

A ‘stay active’ campaign to raise awareness among people with a range of long term health conditions that regular physical activity can help decrease the likelihood of contracting coronavirus, as well as benefiting both the mind and body, has launched this week.

Many of us have found ourselves spending increased amounts of time at home and sitting down more than usual since the coronavirus pandemic started. Lockdown has made it hard for people to be as active as normal, and it’s even harder for people who don’t usually do a lot of physical exercise due to existing health conditions.

Protecting residents’ physical and mental health is one of Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council’s highest priorities since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Stay Active is reaching out to support people living with health conditions, to keep them safe and well, and encourage them to be active during this time by finding out what works for them. The campaign ties in with We Are Undefeatable – the movement developed by 15 leading health and social care charities, supported by Public Health England.

The two councils’ dedicated web pages (CCC: www.bewellcambridgeshire.co.uk/stayactive or PCC: https://www.healthypeterborough.org.uk/) have links and advice to inspire people to take steps to begin moving more – to maintain their physical activity or find new opportunities to keep moving whilst in and around the house – with tailored local support and advice.

Taking part in any form of physical activity can help to cope with having to stay at home more. Regular physical activity can help to reduce high blood pressure, manage weight and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and various cancers – all conditions that can increase susceptibility to COVID-19.

It is also good for our mental health. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of depression, cognitive decline and helps to lift our overall feelings. Being active also helps to give your days a routine and can be a way to stay in contact with family and friends.

As we navigate the changes to our daily routines due to the pandemic situation, it’s more important than ever to focus on the things that we can do to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. There will be ups and downs, of course – and moving more when you can is as important as accepting when you can’t. No matter what level of activity you find you can manage, it is still very much worth celebrating.

Find out more about getting or staying active during COVID-19 on the council’s webpages: www.bewellcambridgeshire.co.uk/stayactive or  https://www.healthypeterborough.org.uk/


Find out more about NHS Test and Trace

A guide to NHS Test and Trace has been produced so that residents understand the programme and what they need to do as part of it.

You can read the guide here.

The more people that use NHS Test and Trace correctly, the more effective it will be at stopping the spread of the virus, the safer it will be for people and the quicker the lockdown measures can be lifted.

Translations are also being organised so that people who speak and read different languages can understand the Test and Test programme, how they can access help and support via the hub network and what steps they can take to limit the spread of the virus. Translations are available at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/coronavirus and www.peterborough.gov.uk/coronavirus with more languages being added all the time.

Please help us by sharing the NHS Test and Trace guide and translations with people in your communities.


Neighbouring villages join Bright Ribbon campaign after success

In conjunction with Peterborough City Council’s on-going efforts to support communities since the coronavirus outbreak, Bainton & Ashton Parish Council launched the Bright Ribbon campaign back in April.

Initially, residents in the two villages donated non-perishable food items by placing them on their doorsteps in shopping bags tied with brightly-coloured ribbon. This was then collected and delivered to the Peterborough food bank where it could be passed on to those in need. Local suppliers Plants Eggs have been generously donating a regular supply of fresh eggs into the scheme.

Since then the campaign has proved so successful that is has been rolled out to neighbouring villages Barnack and Ufford, where donation points are located in old-style red telephone boxes.