SENT ON BEHALF OF MATTHEW ASHTON FOR IMMEDIATE ONWARD CASCADE TO ALL BUSINESS CONTACTS IN THE CITY – YOUR ASSISTANCE WITH THE DISTRIBUTION IS MUCH APPRECIATED (Received 14/9/2020.)
Dear All,
You will be aware from media communications in recent days about the rapid rise in Covid-19 Infections in Liverpool and the City Region, leading to the city now being put on the government’s official “watch list”.
I know that many of you are already implementing the Covid Secure Guidelines in your workplace, and those of you that are following the guidelines will appreciate the need for the whole city to act responsibly, and to act together.
I need not remind you of the potential negative impact of further restrictions being imposed upon businesses, and life in the city, the damage to customer confidence, on your business, and the wider economic prosperity of the city. This is why I am writing to you today to
- Strongly urge you not to allow customers on the premises unless they are wearing a face covering
- Recommend that front of house staff, and those customer/visitor facing must wear face-coverings, and everyone to follow robust social distancing guidelines at all times.
- Staff are strongly recommended to avoid businesses that are not Covid-19 Secure, including pubs, cafes and restaurants that are not implementing the Covid Secure guidelines
- Be mindful of the widespread virus transmission and take great care to avoid crowded environments where the risk of transmission is higher
- The Government has advised that the “Rule of 6” will become a legal requirement from Monday, 14 September. However, I would urge you to implement this immediately and not accept any bookings for groups of more than 6 people.
- Along with this new requirement, from Monday 14th September, it will also be a legal requirement for businesses to have a system to collect customer details on arrival and to provide those details on request, to the NHS Test and Trace Service
I have included the updated version of our COVID Business Resource Pack to help you navigate the latest guidance on how to make your business Covid Secure, prevent the spread of Coronavirus in your workplace, know what to do if staff or customers report that they have developed symptoms, and how to support staff to isolate. I would ask that you;
- read the guidance document carefully and follow the links within, and to adopt the practices in your workplace
- ensure that your business has a Covid Risk assessment in place and all control measures are being followed.
- Complete all information in relation to staff and their contacts at the business
Further to this, if your business is notified by NHS track and trace of a case (or cases within a 14 day period) linked to your premises,
- You will need to refer to the document and nominate a Single Point of Contact,
- Identify who is a case , either symptomatic or have a positive test and ensure they self -isolate for 10 days , identify close contacts of cases and ensure they self- isolate for 14 days.
- Contacts do not need to be tested , unless they become symptomatic
- Ensure the premises is deep cleaned
- If you are made aware that you have a single case of Covid-19 reported in your workplace, please provide this information to the Environmental Health Team at environmental.health@liverpool.gov.uk
- If you have more than one case, in addition to reporting this to the LCC Environmental Team, you must also report the information to the Local Health Protection Team at 0344 225 0562 Option 1.
The local agencies will advise and inform you on how to reduce the transmission of infection during an outbreak in your workplace.
I must underline the urgency and importance of ensuring our businesses are operating as safely as possible, to ensure that we stay open for business whilst keeping the rates of Covid infections low.
Your Sincerely
Matthew Ashton
Director of Public Health
Liverpool City Council
Honorary Professor, Department of Public Health and Policy, University of Liverpool