On the 12th March, the Government announced that we are moving from the Contain phase of the coronavirus action plan and into the Delay phase, in response to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Full details of each stage in the government action plan can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-action-plan

The symptoms are:To support the delay of the spread of the virus, the Department for Health and Social Care has asked anyone who shows certain symptoms to stay at home for 7 days, regardless of whether they have travelled to affected areas. This means people should stay at home and avoid all but essential contact with others for 7 days from the point of displaying mild symptoms, to slow the spread of infection.

A high temperature (37.8 degrees and above)
A new, continuous cough

You do not need to call NHS 111 to stay at home. If your symptoms worsen during your stay at home period or are no better after 7 days contact NHS 111 online at 111.nhs.uk. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice:

Updated on 10 March, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has updated advice about travel to Italy. The FCO is currently advising:

against all but essential travel to Italy
against all travel to Hubei Province, in China
against all but essential travel to the rest of mainland China
against all travel to the cities of Daegu, Cheongdo and Gyeongsan in South Korea

The latest travel advice can be found here:The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not currently advising against travel to any other country/territory as a result of COVID-19: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus

Importance of hygiene:

It is the most important way we can tackle COVID-19, especially washing hands more – catch it, bin it, kill it strategy for those with coughs and sneezes. Wash your hands more often for 20 seconds with soap and hot water – Public Health England recommends that in addition to handwashing before eating, and after coughing and sneezing, everyone should also wash hands after using toilets and travelling on public transport.

Department for Education coronavirus helpline:

The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:

Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)

If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UKPRN) available when calling the helpline.

Where to find the latest information:

UK Government response/updates on COVID-19

Guidance for Educational Settings COVID-19