Coronavirus - preventing local outbreaks

Preventing a local outbreak of Coronavirus is in each of our hands and like all local authorities Bath & North East Somerset has produced its Local Outbreak Management Plan to respond to the pandemic. In this message the council’s Director for Public Health, Dr Bruce Laurence sets out what this means for residents…

You may have seen news recently about the relatively low levels of coronavirus cases in the South West region compared to the rest of the country. Of course, we would dearly like to keep number of new cases as low as possible, while opening up our schools, businesses and social lives again. Sadly, Bath and North East Somerset has certainly been affected by Covid-19, and 90 of our residents have lost their lives to the illness in this pandemic. While it is not yet fully understood why this region has had relatively few cases and deaths, it is likely to be due to a range of factors. Some of the more likely ones include our rurality and smaller numbers of big and crowded urban centres, a greater number of people with the sort of jobs that they can do from home, good general health indicators around levels of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory disease and smoking, and fewer residents from black and minority ethnic groups with their greater vulnerability. The one thing most experts do agree on is that as we now are easing restrictions quite significantly, we are treading a fairly fine line between maintaining control of the outbreak and letting it rip again, with limited room for manoeuvre and none at all for complacency. In common with all other upper tier authorities Bath and North East Somerset has produced a local outbreak management plan to • Reduce the risk of outbreaks occurring in the first place • Identify and suppressing possible outbreaks before they gain momentum • Work with local communities

• Work with the NHS Test and Trace Service, local NHS and other partners to achieve this. Individual and collective behaviour matters so much, and it is the work of the council and its partners to encourage people to take preventive measures seriously, including social distancing and good basic hygiene, even as we all begin to emerge from lockdown. We must remember that the virus doesn’t change its behaviour just because we change the rules. The single most important message I can give is that while our local figures are currently reassuring this virus has not gone away and no one should behave as if it has.

• Stay alert • Practice social distancing • Wash your hands • Stay at home if you have symptoms and get tested Book a test via phone on 119 or online at nhs.uk/ coronavirus

We don’t want an outbreak in Bath and North East Somerset but if it happens we will put updates: • On the website www.bathnes.gov.uk/coronavirus • In the B&NES newsletter, sign up online • On social media, make sure to follow B&NES (@

Bathnes) and Westfield Parish Council for updates • Local radio stations will also run updates. Call 0300 247 0050 or visit 3SG.org.uk/wellbeing for support with food/medicines/wellbeing Go to www.bathnes.gov.uk/coronavirus to find our Local Outbreak Management Plan During the lockdown the Compassionate Community Hub, made up of 3GS, Virgincare, Bath & North East Somerset Council and the NHS, helped thousands of people. Through the hub those who were most vulnerable got help with food deliveries, medicine, transport, housing, mental health and wellbeing and money matters. To date the hub has received more than 6000 calls from people across Bath and North East Somerset. The volunteers have completed 1,300 tasks to support the most vulnerable with critical things like food shopping, collection of medicines and befriending calls. This amazing effort is continuing. The hub and the phone hotline remain open enabling charities, the council and the health sector to work together for the benefit of all residents.

Fosseway 9 Hole Golf Course

We are open for members and pay & play.

Our club is sociable & approachable Call 01761 412214 for more information.

Pay & Play – Day Pass £9.50 weekdays / £14.00 weekends

Club Membership available

Sarah Sheppard, who has been a resident of Westfield since 1988 turned 100 on 20th July!

She was born in Ireland into a farming family. Her family home had no electricity, running water, phones or even vehicles! She would walk three miles to school every day and would get up early to help with the milking before school. In 1938, she moved to the UK and trained to be a nurse, beginning her training in Wimbledon Hospital where she worked throughout the war. Sarah often told stories of how she remembers sleeping on the top floor of the nurse’s home and how she would have to to bring her mattress downstairs when the air raid siren would sound. Those were difficult years, not only because of long hours and low pay, but also because she was having to deal with people who were injured from bombing raids all over the city. Sarah loved nursing and did very well in the field, she particularly loved the comradery of working in a hospital. After a few years, she trained as a midwife in London and was outside Buckingham Palace on VE Day. She remembers the crowds and the joy of that day. After working at various hospitals around the UK, she returned to London in the 1950s where she met her husband, Albert Sheppard and had her two children, Ruth and Phil. The family lived in Poplar in East London where Sarah worked as a Ward Sister at Poplar Hospital, taking a break when her children were young and then returning as a Health Visitor before working her way up to be in charge of several Health Visitors in the East End.

Sarah’s daughter Ruth moved to Bath and got married to another Phil before moving to Westfield. As they were retired, Sarah and Albert also moved to the area, settling in Longfellow Road to be near to their daughter. As their religion has always been a huge part of their lives, they joined the Midsomer Norton Methodist Church becoming valued members of the community.

Sadly, Albert passed away in 2008 at the age of 96. Sarah is now registered blind and continues to be a loved and cherished member of the local community and her family – we hope you had a wonderful birthday Sarah!