Agenda item

(To consider an update report from Michelle Andrews, Assistant Director – Corporate Recovery, on Covid-19)

Consideration was given to an update report from the Assistant Director –   Corporate Recovery, on Covid-19. The report provided an overview of the work by the Local Resilience Forum (LRF), partners and Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) to manage Lincolnshire's response to the Covid-19 pandemic since the last report presented to the Board on the 28 January 2021.

The report highlighted the key data as of 22 February in relation to tests carried out, details of the testing programme, the number of cases, deaths and vaccinations carried out (by age group) and the public health measures introduced to mitigate the transmission of Covid-19. The report

Reference was given to the key milestone dates announced on 22 February by the Government for its road map out of lockdown as follows:-

March 8

•              All schools return

•              Allowed to meet outside with one other outside your household for outdoor recreation

•              England care homes can have one named regular visitor provided testing and PPE

•              Amend regulation for COVID-secure campaign activities for May elections

March 29

•           Outdoor gathering of six people or two households

•           Outdoor sports areas can open

•           Organised adult and children’s sports return subject to guidance

•           Travel outside the local area allowed

•           Not legally required to stay at home but work from home where can

April 12

•              Non-essential retail opened, hairdressers and public buildings like libraries and museums

•              Outdoor settings like alcohol takeaways, beer gardens, zoos and theme parks

•              Indoor leisure like swimming pools and gyms

•              Self-contained holiday accommodation, such as self-catering and camp sites

May 17

•              Rule of six outdoors abolished

•              Pubs, bars and restaurants to reopen

•              Two households can mix indoors – with the rule of six applied in hospitality settings like pubs

•              Cinemas, hotels, performances and sporting events reopen – though social distancing remains

•              Up to 10,000 spectators could attend the very largest outdoor seated venues like football stadiums

•              Up to 30 people would be able to attend weddings, receptions, funerals and wakes.

June 21

•           Remove limits of social contact and weddings

•           Night clubs open

•           Theatre performances open

July

•              Life broadly back to normality

Members discussed the report, and during the discussion the following points were noted:

·         That reference be included in the next report to the rates of infection in neighbouring Counties compared to Lincolnshire. There was some concern that traffic levels seemed to be high despite the current lockdown.

·         It was welcomed that the report now included a comparison to the previous month's data as requested at the last meeting.

·         There was some concern that the Board would not meet again after the March meeting until June due to the election. It was noted that there would be a scrutiny governance gap and the Board required guidance on how the scrutiny function of the Council would operate during this period. It was confirmed that this would be addressed in the next report to the March Board meeting. 

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.