Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual (MS Teams)

Contact: Jayne Tyler  Email: jayne.tyler@iow.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

23.

Election of Chairman for the Day

Minutes:

Due to the delayed attendance of the Chairman it was necessary to elect a Chairman.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT Councillor Hutchinson be elected as interim Chairman.

24.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 241 KB

To confirm as a true record the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 January 2021.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 14 January 2021 be confirmed.

25.

Declarations of Interest

To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations declared at this stage.

26.

Public Question Time - 15 Minutes Maximum

Questions must be put including the name and address of the questioner by delivery in writing or by electronic mail to Democratic Services at democratic.services@iow.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the start of the meeting. Therefore the deadline for written questions will be 8 February 2021.

 

Minutes:

No public questions were received.

27.

Reports of the Local Outbreak Engagement Board

27a

Update on Communications Activity

To receive an update from the Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Strategy Officer.

Minutes:

It was noted that owing to a conflicting appointment, the Director of Public Health (DPH) would be delayed before he was able to present his update to the board. The Chairman, therefore agreed to alter the order of the agenda and the board firstly considered the update on Communications Activity.

 

The Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Strategy (ACX) advised communications had continued along the same vein as reported at previous meetings of the board, with activity focussed around three main pillars.

 

The first was reemphasising the key messages from Government around:

         Staying at home.

         Only undertaking essential journeys.

         Being clear about what those essential journeys are.

 

The second pillar related to the introduction of Covid stories, that related to Island residents who had been impacted by Covid and who had been prepared to provide us with information and undertake interviews and podcasts for us. These stories would provide a wider community understanding of how people were being impacted and how people were not alone in dealing with the pandemic, it was noted these had been well received.

 

The third pillar was regarding ensuring information we put out was very factual and very clear about Covid and vaccinations. It was highlighted that the importance of using facts about the virus was very important as this would counter any sense of panic or scaremongering within the community. It had been proven the public wished to receive information, in order to make informed choices and the activities of Island residents had been a good example of how the public responded to a crisis, through helping others over the last year.

 

It was acknowledged members had discussed previously had been the adherence to the behavioural regulations that were in place, and in fact adherence to those regulations had been good in the main across the Island. This was despite the fact we know people were suffering considerably financially and psychologically.

 

The Board were aware that reports of violations or non-compliance with the regulations were by default more memorable and newsworthy, which gave the impression there was a high level of such activity. However, in reality compliance across the Island had been generally very good and it was likely the impact on the spread of the infection would be presented in the figures provided by the DPH within their presentation.

 

Thoughts were now focussed on the future and the need for forward planning and in particular regarding half term. However, messaging had already commenced to reinforce the message that it was not a holiday in the normal sense and the guidelines of stay at home remained in place. It was accepted taking children on walks or to the playground were allowed, but precautions must continue to be applied.

The overall messages around hands – face – space had not changed. We still need to socially distance and we still need to ensure that we are not mixing outside of our bubbles.

 

The Board were also advised communications regarding the lateral flow  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27a

27b

Update on current situation

Minutes:

Cllr Stewart welcomed everybody to the reconvened meeting and requested the Director of Public Health (DPH) to provide his update to the board.

 

As with previous meetings of the board, the DPH provided members with an overview of the current situation via a presentation, the key points of which included.

 

Members were advised on the current status of the pandemic across the country regarding infection rates per 100,000 population, which demonstrated overall that rates of infection had reduced, however those rates differed in different areas. This showed a really positive picture nationally and in regard to our local area, we had also seen infection rates reducing.

 

It was acknowledged that data concerning the Island, the latest data showed the Island infection rate was 123 cases as a seven-day rate across all ages. The case detection rate stood at 83 per 100,000 population. The positivity rate during testing had also reduced to 4.1 and continued to fall. Such reductions were good news and mirrored trends across Hampshire.

 

It was noted that in wave one of the virus there was only pillar one testing in hospital, Island cases had peaked in early January and there were a couple of mini peaks prior, however case numbers continued to fall. The reduction in numbers was a result of the Island population following the guidance and for the Local Authority working together to reduce the spread of infection.

 

The highest age range testing positive was within the working age population, which was not surprising. Infection rates had fallen in the older population, this was good news as these were more likely to suffer severe consequences as a result, this would impact on the number of hospital admissions and the ITU capacity.

 

The number of hospital cases had levelled off and was beginning to decrease. This was after a large peak in cases, which modelling had shown would remain high briefly, before the data began to show reductions in this area as well. Sadly, in contrast the level of mortality had increased mid-January, although members were reminded that there was a delay between rates of infections reducing and the number of hospitalisations and deaths and the trend had started to reduce in those areas.

 

Moves were underway, subject to Department of Health approval on the establishment of a community testing programme. This would assist in the identification of those front facing workers who were asymptomatic. Identifying those individuals would help break the chain of transmission and offer another tool to help manage and control the virus. It was noted the portal for companies with employees over 50 was already available, with further changes in the programme concerning day setting staff and schools. These were delivered through lateral flow tests twice a week, 3-5 days apart, every week for a 6 week programme.

 

 A number of vaccination sites had been set up across the Island and the NHS programme had been successful, the Island were nearly through the cohort of people eligible for a vaccination. It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27b

27c

Actions taken and required

To receive an update from the Director of Public Health.

Minutes:

In regard to actions taken and required, Cllr Mosdell sought further information regarding construction sites. She pointed out the press release concerning companies that had over 50 employees and the offer of testing. However, it was likely a construction site could contain 20 to 30 workers, all of which could be individual businesses, such as plumbers, electricians and decorators. The DPH was asked how those types of workers would be encouraged to be tested regularly and how they would be supported.

 

The DPH advised there was a simple online booking/registration system for getting a test, and that this would be operational shortly. This would allow such front facing workers, such as the examples given, who had to continue to attend work to book a 30-minute test at designated Island sites. It would be a case of promoting such an approach to businesses, through the provision of information to employees of those businesses. Advice would also be available through the workshops being provided through regulatory services, to compliment additional information to that included in the pack that would be sent to employers.

 

The Chief Executive stated that whilst pre planning for such an approach had been undertaken, it remained subject to confirmation from Government. Once the authority had been provided, the system was ready to go live. On that basis, the Board were advised businesses and frontline workers should keep up to date with announcements that may be released in the media over the coming days.

 

Regarding the comments by the DPH about Easter and Summer, the Chief Executive reinforced a word of caution. He highlighted the hard work undertaken to reduce the Island numbers, and that this included the whole Island community. However, it would be necessary to know and understand the national picture, as that could have an impact in terms of businesses reopening, without experiencing the impact experienced in December and the subsequent increase in cases in January.

 

The Chairman provided a summary of the current situation, expressing for them things were beginning to feel more positive. He cited the case figures advised by the DPH, which was good news. It appeared the vaccination programme was going well and the Island was comparable with the national picture. It being stated that every vaccination contributed and therefore should be encouraged. It was clear people understood the need to stick to the rules and guidance and that the Island was moving forward positively, although any deviation from the rules could, as had been seen at Christmas have an impact.

 

The Chairman concluded by thanking those working so hard both front facing and those behind the scenes.

 

 

 

28.

Members' Question Time

A question must be submitted in writing or by electronic mail to Democratic Services no later than 12 Noon on Tuesday, 9 February 2021.

Minutes:

No Member Questions had been received.