Agenda item

(To receive a report from Michelle Andrews, Assistant Director – Corporate Recovery, which provides an update on Covid-19 in Lincolnshire)

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Director – Corporate Recovery which 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.

The Board was referred to the following data, a breakdown of data was detailed within the report:

• Rate of Positive Cases per 100,000 Population is 521.4 per 100,000 (25^th October 2021) in comparison to the 20^th September 2021, which was reported at 257.1 per 100,000.
• On the 24^th October 2021, Lincolnshire Covid-19 cases reported in the last 7 day period was 3996, in comparison to the figure reported on the 20^th September 2021 which was 1957.
• Deaths reported in the last 7 day period up to the 19^th September 2021 for Lincolnshire as defined below was reported as 6, in comparison in the last 7 day period up to 24^th October 2021 it was reported as 7.
• Number of Covid-19 vaccines administered up to the 12^th September 2021 for Lincolnshire was 1,108,065, as of the 17^th October this was reported as 1,131,705.

The Council continued to encourage the public to follow government guidance, as well as emphasising the importance of ensuring that those who were eligible had their influenza vaccination. 

Lincolnshire's vaccination roll-out continued to be successful and good progress was being made in administering vaccinations to 12-15 year olds.

The LRF was now operating in the 'oversight and assurance' phases of recovery. However, subject to a review of the progress within the Business and Economy Sector scheduled for November 2021, it was felt that the LRF was in a position to agree to stand down the LRF Covid-19 recovery structure in line with the current timetable. On this basis, LCC would be in a position to safely withdraw the resources from both the Recovery Strategic Co-ordination Group (RSCG) and Recovery Lead Group as the recovery journey would be in a position to be sustained within everyday core business capacity without the need for these additional resources to be in place.

It was therefore proposed that the Board receive a final Covid-19 update report at its meeting in November 2021.

The Board welcomed the update and as part of the Board's consideration of the report, the following points were noted:

• A briefing paper would be provided to the Board to explain the rationale for the changes in how Covid-19 deaths were being recorded nationally.
• The Board was reassured that the extra measures were put in place in vaccination centres where staff did not feel confident or felt unsafe as a result of the increase in abusive behaviour at the centres.
• The Board was encouraged by the uptake in vaccinations for 12-15 year olds. It was confirmed that the take up was around 60-70% of all 12-15 years olds who had registered to receive the vaccine, which was higher than the national average of 40-50%. The programme had not yet been completed, with many children not being able to receive their vaccine yet due to a number of reasons such as testing positive for Covid-19 within 28 days or being unwell on the date of their scheduled vaccine.
• Officers acknowledged that there were communication issues with the online vaccination booking system which needed to be reviewed. 
• The Council worked with schools and the relevant partners to encourage uptake of the vaccination.
•  The Council followed and reiterated national advice on mask wearing and continued to communicate key messages on social media to ensure the public were aware of guidance.
• It was noted that PCR test results were uploaded via GP registration, so it was difficult to get an absolute overview of vaccinations for Lincolnshire residents, as some residents used GP services within another County.
• Some Members raised concerns about the lack of future reporting to the Board and proposed that a verbal update be provided at future meetings for the foreseeable future.
• The Board acknowledged the public right to protest peacefully. It was clarified that the police had attended an incident at a school where people were expressing their beliefs around anti-vaccination due to concerns about the safety of the staff attending to administer vaccines. The police had not needed to intervene in this instance and would only intervene where the safety of staff was at risk.
• The Chief Executive was satisfied with plans to stand down the RSGG once assurance had been provided from all LRF partners NHS colleagues and the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership in relation to businesses. It was felt that future arrangements for Covid-19 support could be integrated into the Council's normal workload. The Board was reassured that the Council would be stepping down the infrastructure of the LRF to co-ordinate the response, rather than stepping down the response completely. The risk of other non-Covid-19 related emergencies remained high and it was vital that the LRF be in a position to proactively respond to other emergencies should they arrive. The Council would continue to work with public health services and communications teams.

The Board acknowledged that given the pandemic was still on-going, there remained a need for the Board to be updated in some form. It was not felt necessary to present a verbal or written report at each meeting of the Board after the November update. It was therefore proposed and unanimously agreed that a Covid-19 update be circulated to the Board in the form of a briefing paper whenever there was a significant update or it was considered necessary.

RESOLVED:

1)      That the update be noted;

2)      That following the meeting in November, a Covid-19 update be circulated to the Board in the form of a briefing paper as and when necessary.