Newsletter ¦ 31st December
Hello from the Jubilee Centre.
I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well and you managed to have a peaceful Christmas. Once again, this week’s newsletter comes with bad news and good news.
Coronavirus in Bury
The bad news is that the Coronavirus used the Christmas vacation to mix with many people as it could find, and the levels of infection have increased across the country.
On Tuesday 29th December, in Bury, 228.8 people per 100,000 were tested positive for coronavirus, representing a rise of 17% over the week. (Source: Manchester Evening News). Bury now has the highest figure in Greater Manchester but in comparison, the average figure of England is 367.4 people testing positive per 100,000 people.
Today, Bury is now in "Tier Four". The rules are more restrictive than Tier Three so I have listed the main rules below.
Stay at home
You should stay at home as much as possible. You should only leave your house for specific purposes, including:
- essential activities such as shopping for food, drink or other items such as medicine (this includes picking up 'click and collect orders) or accessing public services or basic amenities.
- work, if you can't work from home, and volunteering
- education and childcare
- providing care to a vulnerable person
- meeting up with others in your support bubble
- exercising
- for medical care or to avoid harm.
Meeting with others
You should only spend time in your house or garden with the people you live with. This means you can’t invite people you don’t live with over to your house or in your garden unless they’re in your support bubble.
You can only meet up with one other person in public outdoor places, such as beaches or parks. Up to two carers for someone with a disability or any child under the age of five don't count towards this limit.
You should maintain social distancing from anyone not in your household or support bubble.
Travel and transport
You should only travel if it's essential. You should still wear a face covering. You may not travel out of your area or overseas (although exceptions apply, for example for work, education or caring responsibilities).
Staying overnight
You can't stay overnight somewhere outside your local area unless essential for work, education or similar. This should only be with those in your household or support bubble. You may not stay in a second home or caravan.
Support at Home
You can have cleaners, tradespeople and carers in your home, as long as they work in accordance with Covid-19 secure requirements.
You can’t have businesses such as hair, nail and beauty salons in your home.
If you’re clinically extremely vulnerable or were previously advised to shield
It’s still important to go outside for exercise but when you do try to avoid places which are likely to have lots of people. Other than for exercise, try to stay at home as much as possible.
If you can, avoid going to shops and pharmacies. Instead, use online shops or ask people in your household or support bubble to pick things up for you.
If you’re struggling to get the things you need, contact the Bury Hubs on 0161 253 5353, 10am to 4pm on Thursday 31st December and then from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm from Monday 4th January 2021 and every week day thereafter. More information at https://www.bury.gov.uk/communityhubs.
Alternatively, The NHS Volunteer Responder scheme can also offer help with collecting shopping, prescriptions or other essential supplies that you need delivered to your home. They can also check in with you if you would like to chat. Phone freephone 0808 196 3646.
You shouldn't go to work, even if you are unable to work from home.
You may want to socially distance from the people you live with, although it is recognised that this may not be practical.
Any carers or visitors who support you with everyday needs should continue to come round.
More Information
For full details on Tier Four rules, go to https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home
For information relating to Bury, including on how to get a test, go to https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15318
Vaccination News
The good news is that the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has been approved by UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) and will be rolled out from Monday.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine currently in use needs storage at -70C and is hard to distribute. The Oxford vaccine needs only normal refrigeration at 2-8C and is easily transported from UK factories to GP practices and care homes, making it easier to vaccinate the population. And there are plenty of vaccines for all the UK population.
One worried member called the Age UK Bury office to ask if the vaccine is safe. My response to such questions is to treat the caller as if they were my own parents. My answer is that I feel the vaccines are safe, that they meet the requirements of the regulatory authorities and that I can’t wait to get my jab.
Vaccine internet hoaxes
Internet hoaxers are using people’s gullibility to spread lies about the new vaccines.
One hoax, that was widely circulated, claimed that Dr Elisa Granato, one of the first participants in the UK's human trials of a possible vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, had died shortly after being injected with the vaccine. But Dr Granato is very much alive and kicking and has taken to Twitter in a bid to stop the misinformation from being shared.
It is impossible to list all the hoaxes circulating online, so if you spot something you need to check on, go to Full Fact, a UK charity, to find out the truth: https://fullfact.org/health/coronavirus/
For more information about internet hoaxes, visit https://www.hoax-slayer.net/ and https://www.snopes.com/. And please ignore that email from a foreign prince asking you for an advance loan so he access his fortunes and share it with you. He is lying.
Our Services
We are closed for the New Year’s Day bank holiday – Friday 1st January.
We will be answering the Age UK Bury office telephone – 0161 763 9030 - from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm from Monday – Friday next week.
Our Keeping in Touch telephone service will continue to call people from Monday 4th January, and receive referrals.
The Information & Advice service & The Handyperson Service both reopen on 4th January.
Diana and Sue will be running their online activities as usual from Monday 4th January. For more details, click here: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bury/our-services/online-activities/
Our activities, our café, our two charity shops and Friends Together are closed until further notice.
Free energy checks and equipment to reduce your energy bills
Older people in the borough of Bury can receive a free home energy check and goods worth up to £30 through our new Handyperson service.
Andrew, our handyperson manager will assess the energy efficiency of a person’s home, give tips on how to save energy and, where appropriate and abiding by Government rules on social distancing, install simple and practical energy efficiency measures such as draught proofing, low energy light bulbs and radiator reflector panels to help reduce energy bills. These goods are free and worth up to the value of £30 per household.
The Warm Homes Programme is funded by E.on, Avro energy, Octopus energy and Shell energy and is co-ordinated by our national partner, Age UK.
For more information, contact Louise on 07872 067662 or email Louise@ageukbury.org.uk. Louise’s office hours are 08:30 am – 4:00 pm, Monday to Thursday. At other times, please leave a message on the answer machine.
We can support up to 50 people with this offer, so the offer is on a “first-come, first served”.
Our new 100 Club
Our 100 Club is taking off and the first draw will be at the end of January 2021. Numbers are available at £60 for the year or £5 per month.
If all numbers are sold, then the prizes will be
- First Prize: £125
- Second Prize: £75
- Third Prize: £15
You can download the membership form and rules below.
Alternatively, you can pick up all the forms at the Jubilee (Monday to Friday 10.30 to 2.00) or we can send them out if you call us on 0161 763 9030 or email admin@ageukbury.org.uk.
All funds raised from the 100 Club go to supporting our services in Bury.
The Quiz
Last week's quiz was the seasonal Christmas Quiz The answers are in the link.
This week’s quiz is a New Year Quiz.
The quiz is just for fun and to keep you out of mischief. We sadly don’t have any prizes but you get the warm glow of success, if you get all the answers right. Thank you to Eleanor for preparing these quizzes for us and keeping us busy.
And finally….
This year has not been the greatest and with new restrictions on our way of life, it is easy to feel gloomy. So I set myself a New Year’s challenge. Write about three good things from 2020. Here goes. They are not in order – all are equal.
The staff of our wonderful NHS and social care services who, day after day, went into work to save lives, putting themselves at risk. This was the year that the services really rose to unexpected and difficult challenges.
I am grateful to our staff, volunteers, tutors, trustees and members at Age UK Bury. I know many people have been in touch with each other through these months. I have often though that the real value of the Jubilee is not the number of activities we run or cups of tea of that we sell, but the fact that so many people have formed strong friendships and have supported each other, and me, through these dark days.
The little things in life that I have taken for granted. A coffee, a pint after work, a concert at the Met. Life will return to normal soon and these little pleasures will become an every occurrence. But I suspect I will not take them for granted anymore.
Now it’s your turn….
Wishing everyone a happier New Year! Stay safe and keep alive!
Andy and all at Age UK Bury.
