COVID 19 Parish Council Update
It has been great to see so members of our community coming together (virtually!) to support each other in these challenging times. We have had a great response from villagers wanting to volunteer and support our vulnerable neighbours and the Parish now operates a database that ensures those who identify themselves as in a vulnerable category or simply feel isolated, have a friendly person they can speak to. It is vital that we don’t forget those most at risk as these isolation measures extend into weeks. If you are in contact or supporting someone who is vulnerable, please get them to notify the Parish Council using the contact details on the leaflet so that we have their details. Unfortunately we must not be sharing people’s details without their consent, even with the best of intentions. So get them to give us a call or email if they use the internet.
So what’s changed? The Government escalated its guidance into direction on Monday evening. Three new measures have been introduced that:
Requires people to stay at home, except for very limited purposes;
Closes non-essential shops and community spaces; and
Stops all gatherings of more than two people, outside of family members who co-habit, in public.
Therefore you should only leave the house for one of four reasons:
shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible;
one form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household;
any medical need, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person; and
travelling to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home.
In line with that Government direction we have closed the children’s play equipment and taped the area off. I know this will frustrate some but you must stay off it. Government direction is clear, if you disregard the direction and let your children play on the equipment, you risk financial penalty and potential prosecution. Please all act responsibly. At this time the recreation area remains open to allow people to take their daily exercise in a safe environment but please adhere to the restrictions - no social gathering - exercise not picnic - and stay more than 2 metres apart from other users.
We are fortunate in the area to have lots of walking and running routes to allow individuals and families to exercise outdoors but again think responsibly. Don’t allow children to block pathways, which places the vulnerable at greater risk of cross-contamination. Remember you can pass on the virus without showing any of the symptoms. This is especially true of children and the rules about leaving the home apply equally to them. Wherever possible please get them to play in their gardens rather than where there is risk of contact with other adults.
Finally, we live in connected times and this can be an enormous benefit but it has many pitfalls. Social media is awash with the virtuous telling everybody how to do their jobs and naming and shaming those they deem to be falling short of their own keenly perceived high standards. Worse still others get on the bandwagon without necessarily having a grasp of the facts. This can and does frequently manifest itself in language and tone that individuals would not dream of using in face to face discussion. The result often feels like a form of harassment and bullying. This is a challenging time but let us please keep our village spirit going. We will all at some point become frustrated being cooped in, my fellow serving and ex-service villagers can vouch for that, but let us act in a manner that brings us credit not disrepute.
If you have issues and do not feel you can speak directly with an individual, please contact the Parish Council rather than using social media to vent. Use social media for the purpose it was intended, stay connected, share good ideas and spread goodwill.
Many thanks
Nigel Benwell
Chairman, Ridgewell Parish Council
nigel.benwellpc@gmail.com or call on 07855 772070
The new Parish Council Community Website will be available from 1st April 2020 www.ridgewellpc.org