Staying safe and well during the Coronavirus pandemic

Do:

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• wash your hands as soon as you get home

Don't

• do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean

Face coverings are currently a mandatory requirement when in certain public settings.

While face coverings do not protect you from contracting coronavirus, it is aimed at protecting people you come into contact with if you are asymptomatic.

A face covering is made of cloth or other textiles and covers the nose and mouth. 

Although social distancing is not mandatory under the current covid-19 guidance, it is a way to reduce your risk of catching or spreading coronavirus.

Social distancing measures are steps you can take to reduce the social interaction between people. This will help reduce the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19).

For questions regarding travel in South Yorkshire you can call the Traveline team on 01709 515151 between 8am and 6pm seven days or follow @TSYalerts  on Twitter. 

Carers (unpaid) are family, neighbours and friends who care for a person/s who could not manage without their vital support.

As the situation with coronavirus evolves, it's important to know what support is available to you as a carer.
Are you new to a caring role? Have your caring duties changed recently? Do you need to talk to someone about your caring role? 
Carer support gives you the opportunity to find out about help available locally and to help make plans for the future. Please see our page Support for family carers unpaid carers during Covid-19 

Please contact Doncaster Carer Reach Out Service in office time (or leave a message outside these times and we will call you back) on 01302 986900 or 07713 089 678. You can also email DoncasterCarers@makingspace.co.uk We will utilise social media as an alternative way to communicate via Twitter @CarersDoncaster and Doncaster Carer Reach Out Service Facebook page.

The links below hold vital information to help and assist at this extremely challenging time:

Making Space - Doncaster Carers Reach Out Service

Carers UK website - Coronavirus mental wellbeing

Carers UK website - Coronavirus guidance

The full new Government guidance is published here.

Clinically extremely vulnerable people are advised to follow the same guidance as everyone else. However, as someone who is at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill if you were to catch COVID-19, you should think particularly carefully about precautions you can continue to take. These precautions are included in the guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable.

Clinically vulnerable people are those who are:

• aged 70 or over (regardless of medical conditions)

• under 70 with an underlying health condition listed below (that is, anyone instructed to get a flu jab each year on medical grounds):

  • chronic (long-term) mild to moderate respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema or bronchitis
  • chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
  • chronic kidney disease
  • chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis
  • chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) or cerebral palsy
  • diabetes
  • a weakened immune system as the result of certain conditions or medicines they are taking (such as steroid tablets)
  • being seriously overweight (a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above)
• pregnant

There is a further group of people who are defined, also on medical grounds, as clinically extremely vulnerable to coronavirus – that is, people with specific serious health conditions. 

See our webpage dedicated to advice for those identified as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable. 

We know these are difficult times, so if you feel like you need a little extra support but have no one around to help then please get in touch with us! 

You can call our helpline Monday to Friday between 8.30am – 5pm on 01302 430300 

If you're worried about someone else, encourage them to use the NHS online coronavirus service or call 111.

For people living with cancer, there is more information on our coronavirus information for people living with cancer page.

Help is available. You can find information on our Coping with bereavement webpage.

Please speak with the care home directly to find out their approach to visitors and keeping people safe during the pandemic. You can find the latest care home advise via the government website.