Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual (MS Teams)

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

Media

Items
No. Item

13.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 226 KB

To confirm as a true record the minutes of the meeting held on 12 November 2020.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the Minutes of the meeting held on 12 November 2020 be agreed.

14.

Declarations of Interest

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

Minutes:

No declarations were received at this stage.

15.

Public Question Time - 15 Minutes Maximum

Questions must be delivered in writing or by electronic mail to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 2 pm on Tuesday, 8 December 2020. Each question must give the name and address of the questioner.

Minutes:

No public questions were received.

16.

Reports of the Local Outbreak Engagement Board

16a

Update on current situation

Minutes:

The Director of Public Health (DPH) provided the board with an update on the current situation.

 

The Government had published its winter plan and the DPH explained what the five indicators were:

 

         Case detection rates in all age groups

         Case detection rates in over 60’s

         The rate at which cases are rising or falling

         Positivity rates (the number of positive tests taken as a percentage of the overall test taken)

         Pressure on the NHS.

 

The variations on restrictions and different tiers were noted, and the board were shown an illustrated map which displayed the local restriction tiers in a national context. The board noted there were some issue areas within the South East, although at week 47 there were some areas highlighted as red, despite the infection rate in those areas reducing. It was acknowledged the Island was in the lower bracket of cases, with the national infection rate also decreasing.

 

The DPH reiterated this demonstrated the Island was in a positive position, although caution to tackle complacency should be maintained. The DPH referred to the R number in Kent, Slough, Surrey and London, which were higher, it being important to remain mindful in respect of hospital capacity. In addition, pressures in hospitals in other areas would affect Hampshire.

 

Members of the board were provided with a summary of a range of statistics, nationally, the R number sat between 0.9 and 1.1. Concerning the seven-day Covid rates per 100,000 population, the following details were provided:

 

England 151

South East 156

Hampshire 73.1

Portsmouth 141.5

Southampton 66.5

Isle of Wight (23) 16.2

 

Rates on the Island and Southampton were coming down and the Island was in a good position with 23 cases in the last seven days and a rolling rate of 16.2 over the last seven days. Rates in those aged over 60 were important as they were more likely to be impacted by Covid. It was noted pressure on the NHS on the Island remained low, with currently 998 cases registered on the Island and 98 deaths. The DPH highlighted the five year average for deaths and advised the current number remained comparable, although there were more deaths in relation to Covid in October.

 

The Leader noted the positive position and the work the people of the Island in all they had done to look after the vulnerable and evidence people continued to play it safe. This being evidenced in the figures presented. The board appreciated the issues in respect of Portsmouth and the current infection figures. These would be a concern for people on the Island, they also sought further detail in regard to the Island deaths

 

In response the DPH confirmed it had been noted that rates in Portsmouth had increased and due to commuters, this was something we needed to remain aware of. In regard to Island deaths, the DPH advised these had mainly been in the older population.

 

Continuing on the theme off deaths, the board noted the overall  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16a

16b

Actions taken and required

To receive an update from the Director of Public Health.

Minutes:

 

The Leader referenced the restrictions for the upcoming Christmas period and the need to be aware of the Christmas bubble arrangements with more people mixing indoors and increases in cases, due to mixing. The Leader summarised the arrangements, that three households could form a bubble and they must remain in that bubble. However, if they opted not to form a bubble, they should follow the Tier one rules. Otherwise they would need to be outside in a public space.

 

The DPH confirmed the Island arrangements and reminded that the hands face, and space message remained, whilst in a bubble people could sit inside, together.

 

The board were advised the local test and trace was being set up and the Covid testing centre in Newport was working well.  There are new modalities in terms of testing, including the lateral flow test, and salivary tests and they are pilot programmes. All were working hard to make sure these could be rolled out. The national CTAS service had 85 per cent of contacts traced and we could enhance with the local contact tracing service. A small area of the Island had initially been identified for the local approach, although we had asked to rollout to a larger area but this knits in with the national service.

 

The advantage to the local service was that all calls are made from a local number and we could assist in terms of local questions regarding self-isolation or pharmacy services and the council could provide that support.

16c

Update on Communications Activity

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

Minutes:

The Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Strategy Officer (ACX) updated the board in respect of communications activity but commented that many of the messages had already been discussed by the board in the previous agenda items.

 

They went on to highlight a communications plan was in place that would run from the current date until the 4 January 2021. The plan had been split into two elements, one for internal staff and the other providing messages aimed at the general public, our stakeholders and including those messages from specific sectors, such as Regulatory services.

 

The message associated with the Islands Tier one status, was that this was through residents choosing to do the right thing, such as hands, face, space, with ventilate becoming a critical part of the overall actions.

 

The ACX acknowledged there was some confusion in terms of the rule of six and sought to clarify the details. If you were applying the rule of six and meeting with six people indoors you still had to socially distance and wash your hands thoroughly and regularly. The rule of six was not the same as a support bubble and the hands, face, space message needed to be combined with that rule of six.

 

For those that might have symptoms, they should continue to, self-isolate, book a test and participate in tracing, which was more important as we have local tracing and noted the good supportive added value that we can supply which was positive for us.

 

The ACX continued, the other element is why we need to do all those things, we need to continue to work together to keep the Island safe and we all have our role to play. We have our tier one status which will be reviewed every two weeks, indications are we will remain in tier one.

 

Those present agreed now was not the time to let our guard down, if we all continued to make the good choices, we have been making then we can sustain the tier one status into the new year. 2021 can start in a better position than 2020 finished, we would not want to be in the position in January where we could have done more.

 

All acknowledged Christmas was an important time for family and friends and people would want to mix. The board noted you could do that by forming family Christmas bubbles but all were to continue to remember hands – face – space which should be the everyday norm and undertaken as a matter of course.

 

The ACX stated they were also using insights they were getting from the Covid support officers and feedback received, with focus on four key themes:

 

         How to shop safely

         Christmas bubbles

         Going out and what that means, booking tables and how to get home, drink responsibly.

         Visitors to the Island from tier two, enjoy your stay in a tier two way.

 

We will also need to consider any new guidance, plus advice regarding vaccinations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16c

17.

Members' Question Time

A question must be submitted by electronic mail to Democratic Services no later than 2.00pm on Tuesday, 8 December 2020.

Minutes:

No questions were received.