by County Councillor Mary Evans
Yesterday we had our first full council meeting at the county council since lockdown, using Teams. It went much better than would have been predicted from the practice vote session beforehand!
We approved a motion to explore the idea of creating a healing wood to support the recovery of Suffolk’s communities from the impacts of Covid19 and remember all those who have lost their lives.
To read the speech made by my colleague Cllr. Matthew Hicks, Leader of the Council, at the start of the meeting on the role the council has played during the COVID19 pandemic. Click here
I think for many of us one of the most difficult features of past 15 weeks has been heightened levels of anxiety. So I was pleased to see that Suffolk Wellbeing are running an online course called ‘Coping with Worry during Coronavirus Times’. This live webinar is for everyone who is experiencing worry during these Coronavirus times. Although it is normal to worry during times of uncertainty, it can also start to affect our emotional health and general wellbeing. The webinar will explore themes such as understanding worry, what maintains worry and offers tips on how we can cope with worry in a more helpful way. Click here for more information.
In the same vein, Suffolk Mind’s Head of Mental Health Education, Ezra Hewing issues some advice to help those of you feeling anxious about returning to work. Click here to read
Suffolk County Council’s Public Health team have launched an online ‘Coronawatch’ dashboard to gather all publicly available data on COVID-19 in Suffolk in one place. You will be able to access national and local data including confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), Deaths from coronavirus, Care home outbreaks and Google social mobility data from the dashboard along with a series of briefings which have been produced on related topics, all from publicly available sources. Visit the Coronawatch Dashboard: www.healthysuffolk.org.uk/jsna/coronawatch
Mobile Testing Units: Visit www.suffolk.gov.uk/testing for newly published dates for mobile testing units across Suffolk. These dates are for the week commencing 13 July and are subject to change, so please check back regularly. 99.9% of households in Suffolk can now access a test centre within a 30 minute drive. It is important that anyone with coronavirus symptoms starts isolating and gets tested. Tests can be booked at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119
Coronavirus Catch ups: Chief Executive of Healthwatch Suffolk, Andy Yacoub, is recording short interviews with some of Suffolk’s most prominent health, care and community leaders. The catch-ups aim to make leadership visible, highlight how services have been changing during this pandemic, their biggest challenges so far and what it all might mean for the future of support. Click here to find out more.
Local Hospitality and Tourism businesses can access more support at the new Tourism + Tech website. Whether you run a pub, café, a B+B, visitor attraction or any business involved in hospitality and tourism in Suffolk please read on and please pass on to anybody you know in the sector.
The East of England has a huge tourism industry and is one of the biggest economic sectors but also one of the hardest hit by Covid-19. With many small and micro-businesses reeling from the economic shock of lockdown, Tourism and Tech was a digital event held to help businesses discover the potential of doing more with digital. Whether you wish to refresh your learning or are coming to this for the first time you will find a host of really useful resources highlighted by the webinar that supports hoteliers, B&B owners, restaurants, cafes, tour operators, visitor attractions or those just interested in learning more about where digital meets business. For more information visit; https://newanglia.co.uk/tourism-tech/
Suffolk’s Virtual Care response service: During the COVID-19, we are using the Alcove Video Carephone to connect people to their regular services allowing much of this to be provided remotely and without contact. If you know someone who could benefit from a Video Carephone please click here
Mary Evans
Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education & Skills
Suffolk County Council