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GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome to my regular South West Surrey update No. 104. As of today, we have had a total of 3,715,054 positive cases of COVID-19 with 101,887 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 5,137 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 192 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 730 active cases in Waverley. All data is accurate as of 11am this morning.

100,000 DEAD On Tuesday the COVID-19 death toll passed the grim 100,000 milestone. Even as we are bombarded with so many other COVID-19 stats this was a stopping in tracks moment. Globally it is also very sad: 2.2m deaths with more than 100 million people thrown into extreme poverty ([link removed]) by the crisis. However, there are early signs that the lockdown is beginning to work with the number of COVID-19 hospital patients down in all regions and the largest ever one day fall yesterday ([link removed]) . Nevertheless the NHS is still under extreme pressure with 60% more COVID-19 patients than in the first wave. I talked about what this awful milestone means for the government on the Jeremy Vine show yesterday
([link removed]) and with John Pienaar on Times Radio ([link removed]) on Tuesday.

SCHOOLS STAY SHUT Boris Johnson has confirmed that it will not be possible to reopen schools after the February half term ([link removed]) but that he is aiming to open them from 8^th March. The lockdown will continue until at least then - by when we will know more about the extent to which the vaccination programme is reducing transmission and the new horrible variants. More home schooling is massively frustrating for parents (in the Hunt family we are noticing a massive difference between the concentration spans of a six year old vs a 10 year old). Schools themselves are feeling extremely pressured but will welcome yesterday’s announcement of £300 million of new funding for catch-up tutoring.

BORDERS & HOTELS Yesterday the government introduced stricter border controls to protect us from new COVID-19 variants. The measures ([link removed]) will include increased police enforcement and the requirement to have a valid reason for travel. The Home Secretary also confirmed that people ‘who cannot be refused entry’ will be required to isolate in government designated hotels for 10 days. Click here ([link removed]) to read Priti Patel’s Twitter thread which summarises everything clearly. I remain worried though that these don’t go far enough as countries that have had real success in keeping out COVID-19 enforce hotel quarantine on all international arrivals. At the moment we are racing to get the vaccine out to as many people as possible so transmission is low and controllable if a variant emerges that is immune to it - that seems to me to be the only real priority right
now.

VAX MAX As of yesterday an impressive 7,164,387 people have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the UK, including almost four in five of everyone aged over 80. I will provide a Surrey breakdown in my next e-mail as the local statistics are published weekly. Some of you have been emailing about the vaccine roll out in other parts of the country where they appear to be doing better than South West Surrey but my overall impression is a programme that has been extremely effective. One example of the commitment being shown by the NHS is Grayshott Surgery where GPs, in addition to their normal duties, have attended 72 care homes across Guildford and Waverley to vaccinate staff and residents – great effort! FYI some people are still receiving fraudulent vaccine text messages ([link removed]) . Please be careful and note that the COVID-19 vaccination is free. In other news, Moderna have announced that their
vaccine (the third to be approved by UK regulator) is still effective against the variants first identified in the UK and South Africa ([link removed]) , although a booster shot is in development.

FRENCH ANGST After all the angst in Britain about our pandemic response, it appears to be France’s turn now. The world renowned Pasteur Institute has revealed that it is terminating the development of its COVID-19 vaccine ([link removed]) following disappointing phase 1 trials. This has caused much hand-wringing in France as the institute is named after Louis Pasteur, the father of vaccines who developed the rabies vaccine in 1885. Those concerns have been compounded by EU failures in vaccine procurement which have been castigated in German newspaper Bild today ([link removed]) as being a great advertisement for Brexit. At the very least it will shake European complacency that they are always better off doing things as a bloc.

The key number to remember for anyone with pandemic-related difficulties remains 0300 200 1008 the Surrey Helpline run by Surrey County Council (Mon-Fri 9 am to 5 pm).

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER?

LESSONS LEARNT On Tuesday the House of Commons Health Committee questioned Sir Simon Stevens, the Chief Executive of NHS England as part of the COVID-19 lessons learnt inquiry. Sir Simon agreed with my recommendation for £7bn a year extra for social care ([link removed]) by 2023/24, declaring ‘where there's a will there's a way.’ I also asked him how we can use the pandemic to resolve long term NHS workforce issues – click here ([link removed]) to watch his thoughtful response.

30,000 people a day are ignoring the ten day self-isolation rule - that’s 40% of those required to isolate. Yesterday I asked Boris whether he would guarantee a salary backfill for those who lose wages as a result of self-isolating ([link removed]) . It’s certainly expensive but loss of earnings seems to be the biggest cause of non-compliance and the overall cost is much cheaper than another lockdown. To find out more on why lockdown isn’t working fast enough and what we should do next, check out my Twitter thread ([link removed]) .

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY?

BIG FUNDING BOOST FOR FARNHAM TRANSFORMATION announced today following approval of £135m of proposed expenditure by the Surrey County Council Cabinet on Tuesday. The new plans include not just the town centre but work in Hale, Wrecclesham and Hickleys Corner. This is a major boost for the Farnham Project Board, on which I sit, and as someone who has been pushing to sort out traffic issues in the town centre for the best part of a decade really does feel like light at the end of the tunnel. You can read more about it in my Herald Column ([link removed]) today.

BOOST FOR TEACHERS Kirsty Walden, a local Conservative campaigner hoping to win the Godalming South, Milford and Witley council seat when Cllr Peter Martin steps down this year, is pushing hard to get local teachers vaccinated as soon as possible. Kirsty’s own daughter is school age so like many of us she is battling with home schooling. Let Kirsty know what you think via her Facebook page ([link removed]) – she’s keen to hear your views.

SHEPHERD AND FLOCK ROUNDABOUT in Farnham, has secured protected status ([link removed]) . The roundabout is a historically significant site and this decision, announced by Waverley Borough Council, means the site will be properly maintained and protected.

LOCAL HEROES Today’s South West Surrey Hero is Bourne Stores. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Minesh Patel has been supporting our elderly and vulnerable by delivering boxes of food to their homes, often working long hours and not charging for delivery. Heroic work! I also spoke this morning to another local hero, Haslemere resident and St John’s Ambulance volunteer Luke Simmonds. Luke has been volunteering with NHS ambulance crews all over the South East (when I spoke to him he was on his way to the Isle of Wight) helping to transport COVID-19 patients to and from hospitals. Another hero we are proud to have in our midst.

RIP ASHOK Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Ashok Patel who sadly passed away due to COVID-19 complications. Ash was a very popular and familiar face in the corner shop/petrol station on Royal Parade in Hindhead.

See my list of local groups working to support vulnerable residents here ([link removed]) .

THE ECONOMY AND JOBS

CLAIMANT COUNT This week the December 2020 figures for the unadjusted claimant count were published, showing the number of people who were claiming unemployment related benefits (such as Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit). In South West Surrey, there were 2,090 actual claimants, which translates to just over 3% of the population aged 16-64. The claimant rate in the UK was 6.3%.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

FOR SNORING OUT LOUD This may be getting a tad personal for this email but does anyone you know have a snoring problem? A sleep expert has shared a hack ([link removed]) that may just help, involving tennis. No put the racket down (at least until the rules change) and this is not about playing tennis anyway. It’s well-known that snoring gets worse when you lie on your back so apparently all you need is a tennis ball sewn into the back of your pyjamas to ensure you sleep on your side…

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Promoted by Sean Donovan-Smith on behalf of Jeremy Hunt MP and South West Surrey Conservatives, all at 2 Royal Parade, Tilford Road, Hindhead, Surrey GU26 6TD.

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