31/07/2020
The Government announced on 30th July 2020 that new restrictions were being applied on people meeting others from outside their household or support bubble in the whole borough of Bury and Greater Manchester, along with parts of Lancashire and West Yorkshire. Most of our services will not be affected, but the new restrictions will have an impact on tenants living in our Extra Care Schemes. This is detailed below.
How the restrictions impact households:
The restrictions mean if you live within Bury or these other areas:
● you should not meet people you do not live with inside a private home or garden, except where you have formed a support bubble
● you should not visit someone else’s home or garden even if they live outside of the affected areas
● you should not socialise with people you do not live with in other indoor public venues – such as pubs, restaurants, cafes, shops, places of worship, community centres, leisure and entertainment venues, or visitor attractions. You can go to these venues with people you live with (or are in a support bubble with), but should avoid socialising with others.
It is hoped that this early intervention will help reverse the rise in figures we’ve seen in nearby areas, and avoid the need for more drastic enforcement measures such as a local lockdown as seen in Leicester. We must all work together.
So Greater Manchester can return to normal, we need everyone to play their part and take responsibility for keeping our community safe. Please follow the additional measures outlined by the Government and, where possible, encourage others to do the same.
How the restrictions affect Six Town Housing
1. Extra Care Schemes
All tenants living in Extra Care Schemes will be receiving this letter today to clarify how this announcement affects them. There are several changes which are being made to comply with the Government’s advice, to help keep everyone safe in the schemes.
No visitors are allowed at the schemes apart from essential medical practitioners, community health or social care staff such as district nurses or care workers, who will need to register for Track & Trace and use hand sanitizer on entry.
The on-site bistros will remain closed and access to communal gardens should be limited to groups from individual households, rather than groups made up of tenants from different households.
2. Neighbourhoods Team
Besides the changes in Extra Care Schemes the new Government restrictions will have no impact on the other services delivered by colleagues in our Neighbourhoods Team, which will carry on as they have been recently.
3. Repairs Direct
The rules about home visitors does not apply to trades staff, which means our Repairs Direct colleagues can still carry out work in homes following the safety measures outlined here. This includes following social distancing and using PPE equipment where necessary.
Please stay safe and continue to follow official Government guidance around washing hands, social distancing and the use of facemasks, along with localised information and updates from Bury Council.
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