CORONAVIRUS GUIDANCE

Agencies across Bedfordshire are working closely together during the Covid 19 outbreak to keep our services running and keep people safe – particularly the most vulnerable.

For the latest information from individual agencies please click on the websites listed at the bottom of this page.

We are also running a Keeping Beds Safe campaign to provide updates on the situation in the county and what is being done to help and support you. Use the hashtag #KeepingBedsSafe to find out more.

We have listed out the key advice and guidance below, please follow these steps and help us Keep Beds Safe.

Everyone’s actions have helped to reduce the transmission of coronavirus in our communities. Fatalities and infection rates continue to fall, however we must all continue to follow guidance to help keep our communities safe, we all have a role to play in controlling the spread of the virus.

You can help stop the spread of Coronavirus by;

• Not leaving home if you or anyone you live with has coronavirus symptoms. Book a test at nhs.uk/coronavirus
• Limit contact with other people and always keep a safe distance
• Stay at home as much as possible
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for 20 seconds and carry hand sanitizer when you go out
• Wear a mask in enclosed public spaces

Full guidance on staying safe is available here

Coronavirus symptoms

The most common symptoms of Coronavirus are;

• a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
• a 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)
• a 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

Please click here for an easy read guide to symptoms.

If you develop these symptoms, however mild, or you have received a positive coronavirus (COVID-19) test result, then you should immediately self-isolate stay at home for at least 7 days from when your symptoms started. If you live with others, all other household members who remain well must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. See the stay at home guidance and this explanatory diagram for further information.

If you have any symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), you should arrange a test by visiting NHS.UK, or contact 119 via telephone if you do not have internet access.

Do not go to a GP surgery, walk-in centre, pharmacy or hospital.

You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you’re staying at home.

Use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service if:

• you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home
• your condition gets worse
• your symptoms do not get better after 7 days

Only call 111 if you cannot get help online.

For a medical emergency dial 999

Everyone should be following Public Health England advice to:

• Wash your hands more often than usual, for 20 seconds using soap and water or hand sanitiser, particularly after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose, before you eat or handle food, or when you get to work or arrive home
• Cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissues when you cough or sneeze. If you do not have a tissue, sneeze into the crook of your elbow, not into your hand. Dispose of tissues into a disposable rubbish bag and immediately wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser.
• If you can, wear a face covering in enclosed public spaces where social distancing isn’t possible and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet. Social distancing, hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes, remain the most important measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Face coverings do not replace these. See the staying safe outside your home guidance, and you can find guidance on how to wear and make a cloth face covering.
• Clean and disinfect regularly touched objects and surfaces using your regular cleaning products to reduce the risk of passing the infection on to other people.

For more information and guidance click here.

You can also find out the latest information about what agencies are doing in Bedfordshire by visiting the following websites:

• Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group
• Luton and Dunstable Hospital
• Bedford Hospital
• Bedfordshire Police
• Luton Council
• Central Bedfordshire Council
• Bedford Borough Council
• East of England Ambulance Service