Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Newport, Isle of WIght

Contact: Marie Bartlett  Email: democratic.services@iow.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 206 KB

To confirm as a true record the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 March 2021.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 18 March 2021 be confirmed.

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

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

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made at this stage.

 

3.

Public Question Time - 15 Minutes Maximum

Questions may be asked without notice but to guarantee a full reply at the meeting, a question 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 Monday, 13 September 2021.

 

Minutes:

There were no public questions received.

 

4.

Reports of the Local Outbreak Engagement Board

4a

Update on current situation

Minutes:

The Director of Public Health (DPH) provided the board with a presentation, based on the most up to date data.

 

The seven-day infection rate on the Island was lower than national figures, it was noted that the virus was still spreading. There had been an increase in positive tests from the PCR tests and with schools returning lateral flow test results had increased.

 

The vaccination programme had been successful with 80% of residents fully vaccinated, news on the roll out of booster jabs and vaccinations of 12-15 year olds would be rolled out once information was provided.

 

The Island was still seeing hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients however due to the vaccination programme this was reduced, encouragement of the vaccine was still be promoted.

 

The annual winter plan had been published the previous day to ensure organisations were ready for the winter, the plan included flu and Covid-19. The board were advised that an increase in cases would be seen over the coming months, however it was believed that organisations needed to ensure a plan was in place for other illnesses seen during the winter months such as flu.

 

The board thanked staff and believed that a strong public message had influenced Island residents in their behaviour during a busy summer with a high volume of visitors to the Island.

 

It was noted that schools had a good process in place, Government guidance had been issued regarding the vaccination programme for 12-15 year olds, there was some uncertainty if a second dose would be offered and the timings around this. There was some concern regarding consent for the vaccination, the DPH advised that a young person could consent ideally in consultation with parents, he informed the board that he would feed back concerns to a meeting later in the week.

 

The board asked questions regarding the number of lateral flow test results being submitted and asked if there was anymore that needed to be done to encourage people to take lateral flow tests and submit their results. The DPH agreed that this needed to be promoted to help prevent the spread of the virus.

 

People attending the Isle of Wight Festival were strongly being encouraged to take a test before leaving home to attend and take a test when they return home.

 

It was noted that it was important to look at Covid-19 in a similar way to flu, to keep the pressure off the NHS, the framework of the board was less about containing the outbreak and more about identifying community spread.

 

A robust system was in place to transport visitors off the island if they tested positive for Covid while on the Island and it was important to ensure information was still available to both visitors and residents.

 

 

4b

Actions taken and required

To receive an update from the Director of Public Health.

Minutes:

It was noted that this item had been covered in the previous item.

4c

Update on Communications Activity

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

Minutes:

The Assistant Chief Executive provided the board with a brief update on the activity around communications and engagement. Over the summer the stay safe message was being promoted, along with regular testing, isolation, vaccination, face coverings and hand, face, space to both residents and visitors on the Island. #findyourspace had been pushed through various social media and advertising campaigns.

 

In partnership with Visit IW and the Chamber of Commerce to ensure clear and concise covid messages were being given, this also included local businesses and transport operators. Regulatory services had worked throughout with businesses to ensure guidelines were followed correctly.

 

It was noted that people had a personal responsibility to stop the spread of the virus and communications continued to put out messages to inform residents.

 

Questions were raised regarding the booking system for second vaccinations, some residents had been advised they would need to travel to the mainland for this, the DPH advised that he was not aware of any problems with the system, however this may have been caused when vaccination centres changed the vaccination being provided.

 

There was some discussion around vaccination passports, the board were advised that it had been suggested that these may be needed for pubs and clubs etc rather than introducing another lockdown. It was noted that keeptheislandsafe.org contained guidance which included a sign post to the NHS covid pass and the NHS covid-19 app.

5.

Members' Question Time

To guarantee a reply to a question, a question  must be submitted in writing or by electronic mail to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 11.00am on Tuesday, 14 September 2021. A question may be asked at the meeting without prior notice but in these circumstances there is no guarantee that a full reply will be given at the meeting.

Minutes:

There were no Member’s questions submitted.