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Prevent the spread of the virus
Everyone’s actions have helped to reduce the transmission of coronavirus in our communities.
As the UK moves to the next phase in our fight against coronavirus, the most important thing we can do is to stay alert, control the virus, and in doing so, save lives.
Please see the latest government guidance
You can prevent the spread of viruses by:
practicing good hygiene and washing your hands often
The main symptoms of coronavirus are:
- high temperature - this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- new, continuous cough - this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- loss or change to your sense of smell or taste - this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
Most people with coronavirus have at least one of these symptoms.
Recommended safety measures to take during essential car sharing
National advice is to try not to share a vehicle with those outside your household or support bubble but recognising that avoiding this isn’t always possible when people need to be able to get to work or attend essential appointments and due to individual circumstances don’t have access to a car or another means of transport.
Suggested measures to take are:
- Share the transport with the same people each time
- Keep to small groups of people at any one time
- Open windows for ventilation
- Travel side by side or behind other people, rather than facing them, where seating arrangements allow
- Face away from each other
- Consider seating arrangements to maximise distance between people in the vehicle
- Clean your car between journeys using standard cleaning products - make sure you clean door handles and other areas that people may touch
- Ask the driver and passengers to wear a face covering
We have produced A3 posters in nine different languages, which can be downloaded and used to promote these suggested measures.
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Test and trace: our role
Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council, together with Rutland County Council, have been chosen among the local authorities to lead work and share best practice on the Government’s new trace and test service.
NHS test and trace: how it works
The service has been introduced to help return life more to normal, in a way that is safe and protects our NHS and social care. The service will allow us to trace the spread of the virus and isolate new infections and play a vital role in giving us early warning if the virus is increasing again, locally or nationally.
- Ensures that anyone who develops symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) can quickly be tested to find out if they have the virus, and also includes targeted asymptomatic testing of NHS and social care staff and care home residents
- Helps trace close recent contacts of anyone who tests positive for coronavirus and, if necessary, notifies them that they must self-isolate at home to help stop the spread of the virus
How test and trace helps fight the virus
The NHS test and trace service will help to control the rate of reproduction (R), reduce the spread of the infection and save lives. By playing your part through the actions set out below, you will directly help to contain the virus by reducing its spread. This means that, thanks to your efforts, we will be able to go as far as it is safe to go in easing lockdown measures.
You can help in the following ways:
- If you develop symptoms, you must continue to follow the rules to self-isolate with other members of your household and order a test to find out if you have coronavirus
- If you test positive for coronavirus, you must share information promptly about your recent contacts through the NHS test and trace service to help us alert other people who may need to self-isolate
- If you have had close recent contact with someone who has coronavirus, you must self-isolate if the NHS test and trace service advises you to do so
An overview of the NHS test and trace service, including what happens if you test positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) or have had close contact with someone who has tested positive is available online. Please see the latest government guidance.
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Outbreak control and prevention plan
We have put together a plan to enable agencies in Leicestershire to prevent, manage, reduce and suppress outbreaks of COVID-19 infection across the county. This plan sets out the arrangements for surveillance of and response to local outbreaks and infection rates.
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