DAILY EMERGENCY COVID-19 NEWS
... Important Daily Notices ...

AS This page is to place quick update important notices that are being sent to us from Government and other organisations over the Coronavirus Emergency affecting our country (UK)...   Please remember that the information changes quickly, so always check to see what time and when the last post was made.  We will update as and when we can....  Users of our Formby Reporter's Free Email Service will get most updates 1st and then they will be added on here as soon as we can...

This page is updated on 23 March 2020

UK is on Lockdown.  Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation on Coronavirus

"Good Evening,

The Coronavirus is the biggest threat this country has faced for decades; and this country is not alone.

All over the world we are seeing the devastating impact of this invisible killer.

And so tonight I want to update you on the latest steps we are taking to fight the disease and what you can do to help.

And I want to begin by reminding you why the UK has been taking the approach that we have.

Without a huge national effort to halt the growth of this virus, there will come a moment when no health service in the world could possibly cope; because there won't be enough ventilators, enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and nurses.

And as we have seen elsewhere, in other countries that also have fantastic health care systems, that is the moment of real danger.

To put it simply, if too many people become seriously unwell at 1 time, the NHS will be unable to handle it - meaning more people are likely to die, not just from Coronavirus, but from other illnesses as well.

So it's vital to slow the spread of the disease.

Because that is the way we reduce the number of people needing Hospital treatment at any 1 time, so we can protect the NHS's ability to cope - and save more lives.

And that's why we have been asking people to stay at home during this pandemic.

And though huge numbers are complying - and I thank you all - the time has now come for us all to do more.

From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction - you must stay at home.

Because the critical thing we must do is stop the disease spreading between households.

That is why people will only be allowed to leave their home for the following very limited purposes:-

► Shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible.

► 1 form of exercise a day - for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household;

► Any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person; and

► Travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.

That's all - these are the only reasons you should leave your home.

You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say No.

You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home.

You should not be going shopping except for essentials like food and medicine - and you should do this as little as you can. And use food delivery services where you can.

If you don't follow the rules the Police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings.

To ensure compliance with the Government's instruction to stay at home, we will immediately:-

Close all shops selling non-essential goods,​ including:- clothing and electronic stores and other premises, including:- libraries, playgrounds and outdoor gyms, and places of worship; we will stop all gatherings of more than 2 people in public; excluding people you live with; and we'll stop all social events​, including:- weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies, but excluding funerals.

Parks will remain open for exercise, but gatherings will be dispersed.

No Prime Minister wants to enact measures like this.

I know the damage that this disruption is doing and will do to people's lives, to their businesses and to their jobs.

And that's why we have produced a huge and unprecedented programme of support both for workers and for business.

And I can assure you that we will keep these restrictions under constant review. We will look again in 3 weeks, and relax them if the evidence shows we are able to.

But at present there are just no easy options. The way ahead is hard, and it is still true that many lives will sadly be lost.

And yet it is also true that there is a clear way through.

Day by day we are strengthening our amazing NHS with 7500 former clinicians now coming back to the service.

With the time you buy - by simply staying at home - we are increasing our stocks of equipment.

We are accelerating our search for treatments.

We are pioneering work on a vaccine.

And we are buying millions of testing kits that will enable us to turn the tide on this invisible killer.

I want to thank everyone who is working flat out to beat the virus.

Everyone from the supermarket staff to the transport workers to the carers to the nurses and doctors on the frontline.

But in this fight we can be in no doubt that each and every 1 of us is directly enlisted.

Each and every 1 of us is now obliged to join together.

To halt the spread of this disease.

To protect our NHS and to save many many thousands of lives.

And I know that as they have in the past so many times.

The people of this country will rise to that challenge.

And we will come through it stronger than ever.

We will beat the Coronavirus and we will beat it together.

And therefore I urge you at this moment of national emergency to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives.

Thank you."

23 March 2020 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a statement on Coronavirus...

DOWNLOAD the full UK Government's Guidance on staying at home and away from others.

Great British Food Festivals Postpone Spring and Summer Events

THE Great British Food Festival have announced the postponement of all of their events up until August 2020.  The Food and Drink festivals, which are held around the UK at stately homes and public parks, and attract over 100,000 people each year, have been moved in the hope they can go ahead later in the year or re-arranged for summer 2021.

Event Manager, Daniel Maycock said:- "Obviously with the current recommendations around social distancing the events couldn't go ahead; We hope to be ready to go later in the year, in the meantime we are working on a 'Great British Market Place' platform on our website:- GreatBritishFoodFestival.Com, the idea is that we will have lots of our fantastic, artisan food and drink producers on there, lots doing delivery. It's free for food and drink producers to use, so we encourage any to join up on our website if they want to be included."

He continued:- "Many of our traders are small businesses and for whom the next few months will be really tough, so if people can, if would be great for them to click on and buy some quality, Great British made artisan produce; at the very least it beats queuing at Tesco. "

The Great British Food Festival are also pointing people to their social media channels, where they will be replicating some of the elements from the food festivals, such as a 'Cake Off' and kids' cookery recipes.

The Great British Food Festival new dates and venues are all below, Daniel said:- "We look forward to welcoming the public on the new dates, with everyone going out to enjoy events again later in the year, in the meantime stay safe everyone."

New 2020 Dates:-

► Knebworth House - Previously 18 July and 19 July 2020, but has now been moved to 21 August to 23 August (3 days)

► Margam Park - Previously ir was due to take place on 27 June to 28 June 2020, but has now been moved to 5 September and 6 September 2020.

► Dalkeith - 12 September and 13 September 2020.

► Hardwick Hall - Previously 8 May to 10 May New dates 18 September to 20 September 2020 (3 days)

► Englefield House - 20 June and 21 June 2020, is now postponed until 2021.

► Lowther Castle - 4 July and 5 July 2020 is now postponed until 2021.

► Sudeley Castle - 19 September and 20 September 2020 has now been postponed until 2021.

This might change if the situation gets worse.

23/03/2020 13:30

Yodel colleagues show support for Whitechapel Centre with generous donations

COLLEAGUES at parcel carrier Yodel's Liverpool head office have donated ₤1,500 to The Whitechapel Centre to support people who are homeless living in the area.

The collection was organised by Gemma Downey, Facilities and Engineering Manager, at Yodel, and the Albert Pavilion Communications team. The donation included raffle prizes given by Yodel's suppliers and other local businesses.

The Whitechapel Centre aims to prevent and resolve homelessness, social exclusion and housing poverty by providing practical, realistic, tailored support so that each person can find a route out of homelessness, maintain a home and achieve their individual potential.

Gemma Downey, Facilities and Engineering Manager at Yodel, said:- "Gathering all the donations was a team effort, designed to support those in need in the wider Liverpool community. It has been rewarding to see all the colleagues getting involved in our appeal; the response has been amazing. We hope that our efforts will make a difference to the local community, and we look forward to working with the charity again in the future."

Julianna Petkovic, Corporate Fundraiser at The Whitechapel Centre, said:- "We were so pleased to receive such a fantastic donation from the Yodel team in Liverpool. The winter is such a difficult time for our clients and the support from Yodel will go a long way to improving their situation."

Southport Foodbank makes a fundraising appeal

SOUTHPORT Foodbank is launching an emergency fundraising appeal to help deal with the needs arising out of the Coronavirus crisis and beyond. A generous local pensioner has kicked off the appeal with a ₤2000 donation and much more may be needed to cope with the expected influx of clients as a result of jobs lost and the wait for Universal Credit and other difficulties.

CEO Richard Owens said:- "This is unprecedented and extremely worrying for many people. We're doing all we can to help existing clients and have reworked our distribution times but we expect there'll be many more people needing Southport Foodbank in the months ahead. We recognise that with food shortages in shops people may more readily want to give money in order to help."

The anonymous donor explained:- "This is not going to work unless we all pull together. Although people my age are confined to barracks, we need to help each other if we possibly can. Food is absolutely basic and we should do all we can to help."

Compassion Acts supports people in need through Southport Foodbank, debt and welfare advice, Food Pantry and more.

To donate money go to:- GiveAsYouLive.com.

Write a cheque made payable to:- 'Compassion Acts' and send to:-

Richard Owens CEO
Compassion Acts
Lakeside Church
Fairway
Southport
PR9 0LA

For gift aid options or receipt also contact:- Community@CompassionActs.UK,

Blue Cross are running a competition for kids!

WITH children across the UK now at home because of School lockdowns, leading pet charity Blue Cross are encouraging children aged 7 to 11 to take part in their fun and light hearted competition called:- 'Britain's Most Heroic Tails.' The competition is in recognition of the charity's iconic Blue Cross Medal award, which honours heroic and extraordinary pets (from hamsters to horses and everything in between).

To take part, children are being asked to design a movie poster featuring their pet as a superhero. No pet? No problem! Pupils who don't own a pet can draw their imaginary 'super pet' and explain what their powers would be.

Closing date for entries is 3pm on Friday, 15 May 2020. Full details can be found at:- BlueCross.Org.UK/PosterComp

23/03/2020; 13.55

Latest information about Coronavirus (COVID-19)

FOLLOWING a stark warning from the Prime Minister that the UK was heading towards a lock down, and after appeals to the public to stay indoors were largely ignored, we are now in a state of lock down. This virus spreads through respiratory droplets, a sneeze or cough can send it flying about a meter before they drop to the ground. Hence why people are being told to keep clear of each other. Droplets of saliva remain in the air for only a few seconds before falling to the ground. If the saliva carrying the virus lands on a wet part of your face, your eyes, nose or mouth then you could become infected. But, scientists aren't sure how much virus it takes for a person to become infected. So keep your distance. It is now law in the UK to stay at home, unless you are a key worker. In theory a sneeze or cough from an infected person can deposit respiratory droplets of infected saliva onto doorknobs, lift buttons or on mobile phones. Keeping your distance from people will significantly reduce the risk of infections. Sadly, this spacing is still not being observed by everyone and the UK is increasingly as risk of an overloading crises in the NHS. The lock down is a result of this.

People will only be allowed to leave their home for the following very limited purposes:-

► Shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible.

► 1 form of exercise a day - for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household.

► Any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.
travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home..

► That's all....!

► These are the only reasons you should leave your home.

► Key workers must also act responsibly when travelling.

Regulated media, like ourselves, are tasked to keep you posted as best we can throughout this lock down. Please note that, if you are not REGULATED media, do not try to use this as a way to get out and about for blogs and other social media applications. Before posting any information on social media, always check for factual accuracy before transmission; wild speculation can be dangerous in this situation..