PLEASE ENSURE THE ADVICE READ IS UPTO DATE ....................31 /03/2020

Latest NHS/Government guidance on Coronavirus including in various langauges. It is really important all members of our communities understand what to do and where to get help, so please share any of these that are useful if you can. If you need anything else, please let me know and I will try to help.

Stay at Home – Protect the NHS – Save Lives

Rules for Everyone
Everyone must stay at home to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

People should only leave the house for 1 of 4 reasons:
to shop for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible 
a ny medical need, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person 
to travel to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home 
to exercise once a day on your own or with members of your household only 

If you have to go out for one of these reasons
• Stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people
• Wash your hands for 20 seconds as soon as you get home

You can read the latest guidance here on the NHS website.

Guidance on what everyone should do is available in English here on the government website, and on this same page there is information in Easy Read and several community languages covering advice for everyone and for people more at risk people.

People More at Risk
Some people are more at risk and should avoid leaving the house even for the 4 reasons above, for several weeks at least. People more at risk should ask friends, family or neighbours to pick up shopping and medicines for them and leave them outside their door. You can also ask for help from volunteers by calling Liverpool City Council on 0151 233 3066 from 8am to 6pm, seven days a week or request help online here.

People more at risk are:-
70 or older 
pregnant 
have one of the following health conditions 
- lung conditions, such as asthma, COPD, emphysema or bronchitis
- heart disease, such as heart failure
- kidney disease
- liver disease, such as hepatitis
- conditions affecting the brain and nerves, such as Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), a learning disability or cerebral palsy
- diabetes
- problems with your spleen – for example, sickle cell disease or if you've had your spleen removed
- a weakened immune system as the result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or medicines such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy
- being very overweight

You can read the guidance in English, easy read and community languages for everyone, and for more at risk groups, here on the government website.

Extremely Vulnerable People
Some people (adults and children) are extremely vulnerable on medical grounds and are advised to stay at home for 12 weeks and keep away from others. Extremely vulnerable people should ask friends, family or neighbours to pick up shopping and medicines for them and leave them outside their door. People can also ask for help from volunteers by calling Liverpool City Council on 0151 233 3066 from 8am to 6pm, seven days a week or request help online here.

Extremely vulnerable people are those who :-
have had an organ transplant 
are having certain types of cancer treatment 
have blood or bone marrow cancer, such as leukaemia 
have a severe lung condition, such as cystic fibrosis or severe asthma 
have a condition that makes you much more likely to get infections 
are taking medicine that weakens your immune system 
are pregnant with a serious heart condition 

Patients in these groups will get a letter from the NHS about this advice soon. Changes are being made to how NHS appointments are taking place. Updates are being made to GP, MerseyCare and hospital webpages so do check these or phone before going anywhere for an appointment.

Guidance for extremely vulnerable people is available on the government website in English, Easy Read and various community languages.

People with certain health conditions
Some VCSEs have worked with the NHS to produce specific advice about coronavirus, so far this includes for Asthma, Lung conditions, Arthritis, Heart Disease and Stroke and you can find these at the end of this NHS webpage.

What to do if you have symptoms of coronavirus
The most common symptoms of coronavirus are a new continuous cough and/or a high temperature. Anyone with these should stay at home and avoid all contact with other people.

Guidance about what to do if you have symptoms of coronavirus is available here at the government website in English, Easy Read and several community languages.

Getting Medical Help
If you need medical help, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital in person.
For health information and advice, please use these internet and phone options:-
• The NHS website to check symptoms and for health advice
• Your GP surgery website ( use this link to find it ) and use their online support where possible.
• For same-day medical help, use the NHS 111 online service. Call 111 if you're unable to get help online. For BSL use this video interpreter service for NHS111.
• For life-threatening emergencies, call 999 for an ambulance. If you use BSL or can't speak on the phone you can register for 999 texts, send the word 'register' in an SMS message to 999 and follow instructions.

Anyone with a medical appointment should check the website of where they were going before attending, or phone. Visiting in hospitals is highly restricted now to very certain cases, again please check websites for latest.

I hope this is helpful. There is a lot of incorrect information circulating, so if you can, please help share these official sources of information with your friends, family and colleagues.

Other Languages
Doctors of the World and the British Red Cross are working to translate NHS guidance into a wider list of languages which you can download here. Not all information is yet up to date, v3 (see title of pdf or end of document) is the latest.

Other Info
LCVS have set up this web page to share information for the VCSE sector including funding options and other support/advice available.

Liverpool City Council also want to identify more volunteers and link to community groups. If you are free to offer to help someone the number is 0151 233 3068 or register to volunteer online.