Coronavirus – COVID-19 - General Advice

We understand and appreciate that the news coverage of the Coronavirus outbreak remains concerning and upsetting. Apprentices, candidates attending commercial courses and staff will be worried about friends and family, and our thoughts go out to those affected by the current situation.

As part of our plan, SETA is communicating with employers/candidates/apprentices/visitors and sub-contractors to help ensure mitigation of any potential risks. 

General Advice

SETA is following national guidance that has been issued for educational settings. The latest accurate information on Coronavirus (COVID-19), including the current situation in the UK and details about the virus and its symptoms, can be found at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or the Public Health England website (www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england) Both websites are regularly updated and include the most recent advice - so we encourage you to visit them for the latest information.

Look at the Coronavirus pages on the Government website (www.gov.uk/coronavirus) for the latest up-to-date information on what you MUST do.

Stay alert

The single most important action you can take is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives remains.  However on the roadmap to recovery we can all help control the virus if we stay alert.  This means you must:

~Stay at home as much as possible

~Work from home if you can

~Limit contact with other people

~Keep your distance if you go out (2 metres apart where possible)

~Wash your hands regularly

~Self-isolate if you or anyone in your household has symptoms

These are exceptions – and when doing these activities, you should minimise time spent outside of the home and ensure you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.

Critical workers, and parents of vulnerable children, may leave the house to take their children to and from school or their childcare provider. More detail is available online. Children can be moved between homes if their parents live separately.

Help stop the infection spreading and support each other:

~ wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
~ cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
~ put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
~ don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean
~ clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects in your home, such as door handles and taps
~ shop responsibly, follow advice in stores, and only buy what you need for yourself and your family, and those you’re supporting

How to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds

Symptoms

You may have coronavirus if you have either of the following symptoms, however mild:

~ a high temperature
~ a new, continuous cough

Anyone who has these symptoms must stay at home until the symptoms have ended, and in all cases for at least 7 days. Everyone else in the household must stay at home for at least 14 days after the first person’s symptoms appear, even if they themselves do not have symptoms. If anyone else develops symptoms during that time, that individual must stay home for an additional 7 days from when they developed symptoms. Once 7 days have passed and provided symptoms have ended, they no longer need to isolate.

An example of how coronavirus can spread in a household

Person A develops symptoms, triggering 7 days of isolation for herself and 14 days for others in her household.

Person A’s isolation ends after 7 days, if her symptoms have stopped.

From the time person A first develops symptoms:

~ person B develops symptoms on day 3 so they must isolate for 7 days from day 3
~ person B’s isolation ends on day 10, as long as their symptoms have stopped by day 9
~ person C has no symptoms so their 14-day isolation ends on day 15
~ person D develops symptoms on day 13. Their 7-day isolation starts on day 13
~ person D’s isolation ends on day 20, as long as their symptoms have stopped by day 19

Advice for those who are 70 and over, have an underlying health condition or are pregnant

People who are 70 and over, or those who have an underlying health condition, are likely to be more seriously affected. It is even more important that you protect yourself now by following the advice above.

If you are at very high risk due to a serious underlying health condition, you should have already received a letter from the NHS containing specific guidance about what to do.

If you need shopping or medication, ask family, friends or neighbours to drop these at the door, or if possible, order online. Use NHS online services or the NHS App to book appointments or order repeat prescriptions – only phone if this is not possible.

GP consultations should be done over the phone or online, to minimise risk to you and other patients. GP practices may postpone non-urgent health checks or routine appointments.

There is helpful information and advice for pregnant women about coronavirus on the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ website.

Support for businesses and workers

The government knows that all these measures have a huge impact on businesses, households and people across the country and has taken action to protect lives and incomes.

For businesses

~ more than £330 billion is being made available in loans and guarantees
~ another £20 billion is being given to businesses through tax relief and cash grants
~ HMRC is deferring VAT payments for the next quarter

For workers and families:

~ the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme means employees can receive 80% of their wages up to a maximum of £2,500 per month
~ the Coronavirus Self Employment Income Support Scheme will provide a grant to most self-employed individuals or partnerships, worth 80% of their profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month
~ extra support for the unemployed and those on low incomes through Universal Credit and Tax Credits, worth up to £1,040
~ nearly £1 billion of additional support for renters
~ mortgage holidays of three months for anyone in difficulty due to coronavirus, including owners of buy to let properties

This is just some of the support available for businesses and workers. Further information is available at gov.uk/coronavirus.

Going to work

You may travel for work purposes, but only where you cannot work from home.

Employers and employees should discuss their working arrangements, and employers should take every possible step to facilitate their employees working from home.

Certain jobs require people to travel to their place of work.

If you cannot work from home then you can still travel to work, provided neither you nor any of your household have coronavirus symptoms. This is consistent with advice from the Chief Medical Officer.

Stay alert. Control the virus. Save lives.