COVID-19 Update 29

IMPORTANT - Christmas and New Year Guidance and Working Arrangements

Whilst Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire are Tier 3 areas, it is critically important that staff comply with the guidance that has been issued by the government. This is so that you, your families, your colleagues and service users who you may work with are kept as safe as possible over and after the Festive period. The risks following social mixing are not limited to Christmas Day itself and the impact of any transmission of COVID-19 will not be seen immediately. Staff should therefore be extremely cautious over the entire Christmas period and continue to be cautious into the New Year. 

To make it easy for staff to understand the guidance relating to Christmas bubbles, I outline the guidance below.

You can only form a Christmas bubble if you do not live in a Tier 4 area. If you are permitted to form a Christmas bubble and choose to do so:

• keep your Christmas bubble as small as possible. Two other households is a maximum, not a target.
• do not join a Christmas bubble with anyone from a Tier 4 area.
• stop all unnecessary social contact outside your immediate household as soon as possible and for at least five days before you meet other households in your bubble.
• only meet your Christmas bubble in private homes or in your garden, places of worship, or public outdoor spaces.
• only see your bubble on Christmas Day. Do not stay overnight and keep your visits as short as possible.
• stay local where possible. Avoid travelling from a high prevalence to a low prevalence area
• only meet people who are not in your Christmas bubble outside your home according to the rules in the tier you live in and do not meet socially with friends and family that you do not live within your home, unless they are part of your Christmas bubble.

I wish to reiterate that all staff should continue to only attend work in person over the Christmas and New Year period if work cannot be undertaken from home. This is particularly important if you have chosen to form a Christmas bubble with others. I am reiterating this because we must limit the potential for any additional spread of COVID-19 following the formation of Christmas bubbles. This will not only protect those of you who do not need to attend work in person, but crucially will also protect staff who must attend work in person, by limiting the number of other staff they may come into contact with.

I hope you all have a very happy and safe Christmas.

With best wishes,

Jonathan