Dear John,

The Third national lockdown comes into effect today and is expected to last for at least seven weeks. This follows the recommendation of the joint biosecurity centre to move the Covid-19 alert level from 4 to 5 due to the material risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed.

For the most part, restrictions reflect recent tier 4 rules but will be stricter than the November lockdown, with the important addition of schools and colleges being closed to most pupils, with a switch to remote learning. With the new Covid variant spreading fast, it’s clear that our schools had to close, but the government now needs a plan for school closures to ensure that pupils don’t fall behind, that ensures working parents and staff are supported, and that schools are reopened safely as soon as possible. 

There is a lot of clarity missing at this time, but alongside other Labour colleagues, I will be pushing to cancel the cut to Universal Credit, for more support for sectors in our economy being hardest hit; to protect jobs and to stop further people being pushed into hardship, particularly in the hospitality and self-employed sectors. The Government must urgently provide a more substantial support package in order to ensure businesses in Harrow and across the country more widely can survive. 

Given the serious rise in the number of COVID cases in Harrow and across London, I continue to be worried about the NHS locally. In the last week, Harrow has seen 2,416 cases of COVID, up from 1,812 cases in the week before. Harrow’s latest case rate is now 934 cases per 100,000, while nationally, the rate is 487.

Do make sure to observe the new measures and please continue to follow the public health rules:

Stay at home 🏡 

• Everyone should stay at home unless they have a "reasonable excuse"

• You can leave your house to buy food, collect essential supplies, attend medical appointments or get a coronavirus test, meet people as part of a support bubble, exercise once a day, provide care or to escape harm

• Overnight stays are not allowed outside of a support bubble

• People are allowed to visit people giving birth or dying

• You are still allowed to move house, but people outside your household should not help you move

• Estate agents are permitted to work and property viewings can still take place

• You can leave home to offer voluntary or charitable services

• These rules are being enforced by law, so you can be fined £200 if you break them, doubling to a maximum of £6,400

Exercising and meeting other people 🏃‍♀️ 

• You can leave your home to exercise outdoors once a day, but this should be within your local area

• It can be done alone, with your household or support bubble or with one person from another household

• You must be exercising when with anyone outside your household - not meeting for a picnic

• Permitted outdoor areas for exercise include parks, beaches, countryside, public gardens, grounds of a heritage site and playgrounds

• Indoor and outdoor gyms are closed, including leisure centres, sports courts, swimming pools and golf courses

• Elite sports such as football can continue

Support bubbles and childcare 🍼

• Adults living alone can still form support bubbles with another household

• If you live with children under 14 you can form a childcare bubble to allow one other household to provide informal childcare

• Divorced or separated parents can continue to share the care of their children

Education 👨‍🏫 

• From 5 January all colleges, primary and secondary schools will move to remote working until February half-term

• Vulnerable children and those whose parents are key workers can continue going to school

• University students will not be able to return to campus, but learning can take place remotely

• In-person tuition can continue for a small number of practical courses such as medicine, nursing, social work and education

• Exams will "not go ahead as planned this year"

• Nurseries and childminders can remain open

Work 👨🏻‍🔧

• You must work from home unless you are a key worker or are unable to do your job from home

• Jobs that cannot be done remotely include medical workers, supermarket staff, construction workers and transport staff

• You can also work inside other people's homes if you are a nanny, tradesperson or cleaner

Shielding 

• Those who previously shielded should not leave home apart from for exercise and medical appointments

• Extremely clinically vulnerable should not work if unable to do so from home

• They should also avoid crowded spaces

Travel 🚆 

• You must not travel anywhere unless you have a "reasonable excuse"

• If you need to travel you must stay local and only leave home for essential purposes

• You can only travel abroad unless you are legally permitted to do so, for example for work purposes

• If you are already on holiday, you should return home as soon as possible

Hospitality 🍺 

• All pubs, restaurants, cafes and bars closed

• They are allowed to serve takeaway food and (non-alcoholic) drink until 11pm  

• All food and drink (including alcohol) can continue to be provided by delivery 

• Close contact services closed

• Indoor and outdoor entertainment venues closed

• Hotels and holiday accommodation is allowed to remain open for a small number of guests

• You should only stay in a hotel or holiday rental if you are travelling for work, attending a wedding or funeral or are moving house

Care homes 🏠 

• Care home visits are allowed behind screens, in visiting pods or behind windows

• Indoor visits are not allowed

• All visits will be suspended in the event of an outbreak

Weddings and funerals 💒

• Weddings, civil partnerships and wakes are permitted with up to six people

• People working at the wedding are not included

• They should only take place for urgent reasons, for example if one person is terminally ill

• Funerals are allowed with up to 30 people

• You can stay away from home if travelling for the above purposes

• Communal worship is allowed but you must not mix with people outside your household or support bubble

While the weekly clapping has stopped, as a community, we are immensely grateful to all of our NHS staff, social care workers and all of our key workers that continue to keep us safe and keep our local services going. I want to thank you for the sacrifices you may have made in the past 9 months, I know it's been difficult for so many in our community. With the national vaccination programme, there is hopefully some light at the end of this long tunnel. A huge thank you to the GPs, doctors, nurses, administrators, many volunteers and everyone in between helping to roll this out. 

I hope readers continue to stay safe, socially distance and regularly check in on loved ones.  Again, people are being urged to remain vigilant for any symptoms of Covid-19 If you're feeling unwell with any of the symptoms of Covid, a new continuous cough, high temperature, or a loss of or change to taste or smell, it's vital that you get tested. To book a test visit nhs.uk/coronavirus or call 119. The response to Coronavirus is being directed by Government centrally working with Public Health England, the Government’s advice is available here. Government assistance specifically for businesses is available here .  

A reminder that if you need to get in touch about the issues covered here – or anything else – please contact my office on 0207 219 4243 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Please bear with us, as we have received five times our regular casework correspondence in recent months.

Harrow Council

The council has a webpage covering their own response to the coronavirus pandemic, this is regularly being updated and is available here.  

Book a free test online or call 119

😷 Getting tested at a local testing centre: 🧪

·       South Harrow walk-through testing centre at Brigade Close Car Park, HA2 0LQ (opposite South Harrow Police Station) - open daily 8am to 8pm. No parking available at this site.

·       Harrow Weald, Harrow Weald Recreation Ground, 8am-8pm

·       Mobile Testing Unit, Harrow Civic Centre - Car Park ‘A’, Milton Road, 10:30 – 15:30

·       Mobile testing site (cars only) on selected days, 10.30am to 3.30pm at Northwick Park Hospital (Rear car park).

Tests must be booked in advance.

Don’t have any symptoms but want a test?

If you don't have any symptoms but want to be tested, you can book a free Rapid Covid Test in Harrow Town Centre: https://www.harrow.gov.uk/test 

Virtual Careers Fair

Next Monday from 3:30PM is my Virtual Careers Fair with Rooks Heath College for all Harrow students. In 2019, I held my first Careers Fair with Rooks Heath, hosting engineers from Heathrow, to representatives from charities, radio presenters and graphic designers, as well as workshops from Google. This year, with Rooks Heath and many incredible people from Harrow that have stepped in – the Careers Fair will take place online.

From 3:30PM next Monday, click on to the Rooks Heath website (https://www.rooksheath.harrow.sch.uk/) and we will have speakers from a number of companies and local businesses; Heathrow, Headstone Manor Museum, Thames Water, Thompson’s Solicitors, and many more, as well as a CV and Cover letter workshop from Google. The Google workshop is available to all and access is given following a registration through this link: https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage/f2f/build-a-cv-write-a-cover-letter/detail?city=Online&date=1610388000000&time=1610384400000&venue=Live%20webinar

Please be sure to share with any young person in Harrow that is beginning to think about the career they would like to pursue.

Dr David Lloyd Covid-19 Vaccine Q&A

On behalf of constituents, I recently asked questions about the Covid vaccine to Dr David Lloyd 👨‍⚕️, I shared his answers in a number of posts across social media  – the full thread of videos can be found here.

📌 Why should people get the vaccine and is it safe?

Dr Lloyd wants to reassure us that this vaccine is safe and it will get us out of the terrible state we are in now. The vaccine has been approved as by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) and has been through 3 phases of clinical trials with checks at every stage in the development and manufacturing process. In the third phase, it was given to more than 21,000 volunteers with no serious safety concerns. As with any medicine, vaccines are highly regulated products and Dr Lloyd wants to reassure everyone that, when added up, thousands of “man-hours” have gone into this vaccine, much like previous vaccines that have taken what feel like a longer time to secure.  💉

📌 Where are vaccinations taking place in Harrow?

The first vaccinations have taken place this week in Harrow, at The Hive Stadium in Edgware, with Tithe Farm, Rayners Lane FC being the next ground. A tremendous effort is being made by GPs, doctors, nurses, managers, administrators and many volunteers all doing a fantastic job. It’s going to take months and months to get the vaccine distributed and the NHS locally and nationally will need the support of many to make it possible. Please get involved if you can. 💉

Can you provide support?

Harrow Foodbank

Harrow Foodbank continues to highlight the impact of in-work poverty and the number of ways that people find themselves at a crisis point. The warehouse will be fully reopened from Monday 11th January, with donations accepted in collection bins at all major supermarkets. The Foodbank continue to emphasise the majority of its users are in work, but many are in need of emergency food provisions. If you can, please consider providing a monetary donation to the food bank, they have acquired a van and plan to make deliveries to vulnerable residents across the borough in 2021 - send an email to [email protected] or visit Harrow.foodbank.org.uk for more.

London's Community Kitchen

London's Community Kitchen (based at The Bridge, next to Harrow Leisure Centre) run a Free Surplus Food Market open to everyone every Friday from 3-5PM. At the height of the pandemic, this operation served over 10,000 people across Harrow and London and they are continuing to serve over 5,000 people per week. Please consider donating or getting involved in any way that you can with this incredible Harrow-wide response to the coronavirus pandemic: https://www.londonscommunitykitchen.com/home-1

If you’re ever in need of their support, the Community Kitchen want to help - they won’t ask you for any details, or anything in return, just turn up and they will provide you with food.

Volunteer:

The Community Kitchen would love any support to keep their operation running as effectively as possible. Please get in touch with Vivette Morrow: [email protected]  and once you have had a Covid test, she will help set you up as a volunteer!

Consider becoming a Stem Cell Donor #HelpVeerNow

Harrow born Veer Gudhka, aged 4, has been searching for a matching stem cell donor for over a year now. It is often very difficult for people of Asian origin to find their match. Veer's parents have been appealing to people of all backgrounds, but especially Asians, to step forward and join the global stem cell register. All it takes to do so is a simple cheek swab test in your own home! If you are found to be a match, donation itself is usually as simple as giving blood. So, we urge you to register today to help Veer and countless others who are in desperate need of a match and to potentially give them a second lease of life.

Order your free swab kit today: https://www.linktr.ee/helpveernow

The HelpVeerNow campaign has managed to inspire over 9000 people to register and one of these 9000 people in India has actually gone on to donate his stem cells and save someone else’s life! This is why every registration really does count, so please keep encouraging others to register as stem cell donors too

You can download an interactive PDF for sharing across your WhatsApp and Email networks. Please download today and get sharing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JF80bN1KlK03CPbcn4B_C3oxhGvjRNO9/view

Follow @helpveernow across Facebook and Instagram.

Finding Support

The New Year and renewed lockdown measures will have created anxiety and stress for many. Don't be afraid to reach out for help if you are worried about your mental health: Samaritans: 116 123, CALM: 0800 58 58 58, Young Minds:0800 018 2138, The Mix (under 25s): 0808 808 4994

Coronavirus Hotline

The council continues to operate a hotline telephone number during weekends in order to provide support to those in need of assistance in Harrow - if you are in need of support due to Covid please give the hotline a call - 0208 901 2698

Support for children and young people

Harrow Council, Harrow CCG, and Young Harrow Foundation have put together a joint document signposting residents to a collection of some of the most helpful and trusted sources of information and guidance for children and young people’s wellbeing.

For young people (high school and college age), the document ‘looking after ourselves’ can be found here – covering how to stay healthy, stay connected and learn new skills during this time.

Support and online resources for the family

Harrow Council have collected a range of online resources  for all members of the family to keep entertained while libraries are closed. You will be able to find resource to help with homework, eBooks, newspapers and magazines and keeping yourself healthy and motivated.

Counselling services and mental health support

•       5 Steps to Mental Wellbeing   - A fantastic primer on stress, anxiety and depression from the NHS. Evidence suggests there are 5 steps you can take to improve your mental health and wellbeing. Trying these things could help you feel more positive and able to get the most out of life.

·       Relate Family Mediation  - a service fully geared up to supporting families through the crisis. Tel: 0300 0032324 or email i[email protected].

·       DAWN  - provide a counselling service to the local community of Harrow and its neighbouring boroughs. Tel: 020 8427 6796 or email: [email protected]

·       Need To Talk  - offering 1 to 1 counselling supporting their clients or any client by telephone or webcam. Tel: call/ text on 07427548559 or email [email protected]

·       Ignite Trust   - During these challenging and uncertain times, Ignite Trust is working hard to ensure they continue to provide support to the boroughs most vulnerable and at-risk young people. Email [email protected].

·        Every Mind Matters - Expert advice and practical tips to help you look after your mental health and wellbeing.

NHS – ‘Help Us, Help You’ 

NHS England and NHS Improvement recently launched the Access phase of the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign. The campaign encourages the public to contact their GP if they are worried about a symptom that could be cancer, encourage pregnant women to keep appointments and seek advice if they are worried about their baby, encourage those already who are already being treated for a health issue to keep their routine appointments and those experience mental health issues to access NHS services and support.. The NHS has introduced a range of measures to ensure the safety of patients, including COVIDsecure wards, and the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign will help to reassure patients that they can receive medical care safely. Your NHS is here to see you, safely. Help Us, Help You. 

For cancer: Visit nhs.uk/cancersymptoms  for more information 

For using the NHS during coronavirus: Visit nhs.uk/yourhealthmatters for more information 

For pregnancy advice: Visit nhs.uk/pregnancy-and-coronavirus for more information 

For mental health and talking therapies If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, please do come forward: it’s easy to get help. Ask your GP for a referral to NHS talking therapies, or you can self-refer via  nhs.uk/talk

Help from me

I appreciate that whilst this outbreak of Covid-19 is currently dominating a lot of our thoughts, other concerns and problems do not disappear. However, to help reduce the spread of infection, I am asking members of the public who need to contact my office to do so by phone or email rather than in person and further, I will continue to hold surgery appointments exclusively by telephone and Zoom video conferencing. This is a temporary measure and a sensible precaution to protect vulnerable people.  Please be assured we continue to offer a full service of advice and support to members of the public who need it. 

My office can be contacted on [email protected] or by telephone on 0207 219 4243 (Monday-Friday). Please bear with us, as we have received five times our regular casework correspondence in recent months.

Stay safe,

Gareth