Update on Bolton Council's response to the pandemic.
Keep safe this Mother’s Day
As families celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, residents are reminded that certain COVID restrictions remain in place to help keep us all safe.
Meeting indoors with anyone outside of your household or support bubble is still not permitted under government guidelines and everyone is asked to remain in their local area.
A full list of restrictions is available on our FAQs page, sticking to the rules now will help bring the infection rate down so that lockdown can be eased in line with the government’s roadmap.
Visiting loved ones in care homes
In line with government guidance on the easing of lockdown restrictions, care home visits can now take place under certain conditions.
Every resident can have one, named, regular indoor visitor. Visitors will need to take a rapid lateral flow test beforehand and wear PPE during the visit.
Other types of visiting, including in pods and outdoors, can continue so residents can see more people than just their named visitor.
A guide to the new rules can be found on our FAQ page.
Extra pop-up vaccination sites this weekend
Two pop up vaccination sites will be open for appointments this weekend.
Following the success of a pop up clinic at Pikes Lane Centre last Saturday, where appointments were booked up within a day of it being publicised, the site will open its doors again this Sunday, March 14.
Appointments should be booked in advance and apply to people who are registered at 13 GP practices in the Deane, Daubhill, Derby and Great Lever areas.
Vaccinations can be booked between 8am and 4pm via one of three ways:
- Click on the booking link sent in a text message, direct from your GP practice
- Contact your GP practice via the usual number
- Phone the vaccination hotline: 01204 462125 or 01204 462157 (these are independent numbers not linked to any GP practice)
Marshals who can speak different languages will be on hand at the Deane Road centre to help those whose first language is not English. However, people are advised to bring a family member or someone from their support bubble to help translate.
A second pop up clinic will be held at Farnworth Health Centre, Frederick Street on Saturday, March 13 between 8.30am and 3pm.
Appointments will be open to those people registered at the following GP practices:
- Kearsley Medical Centre
- Stonehill Medical Centre
- Fig Tree Medical Centre
- The Farnworth Family Practice
Appointments can be booked in the same way as the Pikes Lane site.
Both options are alternative venues to the ‘hub’ site at Lever Chambers in the town centre, which is vaccinating people from Central Primary Care Network, Rumworth Primary Care Network and Farnworth and Kearsley Primary Care Network.
Financial support for businesses
On March 3, the Chancellor made a number of announcements in the budget designed to support jobs and livelihoods, this includes extensions and changes to Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Self Employment Support Scheme, £5 billion for new Restart Grants, a new UK-wide Recovery Loan Scheme and an extension to the VAT cut to 5% for hospitality, accommodation and attractions across the UK until the end of September and more.
Details of the grants from 1 April 2021 will be published on Business Bolton website when the information is available.
Financial support for those self-isolating
Following from the Chancellors budget announcements where he has extended the financial support scheme for self-isolation until the summer, residents may be eligible for support.
Residents who have tested positive for the virus and who have been asked to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace service could qualify for a £500 support payment if they cannot work and face a loss of income.
People who have been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace because they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive could also be eligible.
Find out more about who is eligible.
Additional materials available to support at home rapid coronavirus testing
The Department for Education (DfE) has made available additional resources to support schools with their communications as young people move to testing themselves at home. The materials are easy to download and include:
- a poster for pupils
- an introduction to rapid self-testing for coronavirus
- lateral flow device (LFD) self-test four step reminder guidance
- a leaflet on swabbing yourself for coronavirus
- a leaflet for parents – a guide to regular testing for parents with children at nurseries, schools and colleges.
The instructions for self-testing are available online in English and 12 other languages. DfE are encouraging schools to include the link to the translations in their testing communications.
Bolton’s Covid-19 Vaccination Programme hits 100,000 milestone
Since the vaccination programme began on December 15, 2020 100,000 people in Bolton have been vaccinated with their first dose.
To celebrate this milestone, Bolton Town Hall was lit up in blue in tribute to the NHS on Wednesday evening.
Healthwatch Bolton survey
Each year Healthwatch Bolton asks people in the community which areas of health and care they should focus their work. To help your health and care services to be planned to meet your needs, it is important that your voice is heard.
They want to hear from all sectors of the community. We know that Covid 19 has had a huge impact on people’s lives and also on the NHS and social care services.
As services begin to recover, Healthwatch Bolton want to understand the impact this has had on you and also about any changes to the ways you access services.
Go to the Health and Care Priorities 2021-22 Survey.
The survey closes 31 March 2021.
Bolton Council secures half a million pounds for sports and leisure
Bolton Council has secured £489,000 of funding to support popular sporting and leisure facilities during the COVID-19 recovery.
Work to improve Walker Fold Road starts March 15 next week
Walker Fold Road will be closed throughout the works, signs will be placed on site giving advanced notice of when the closure will be in operation. The work is expected to take 16 weeks to complete subject to weather conditions.
Bolton remembers: one year on from the first Covid-19 deaths in the borough
As the borough commemorates one year since the outbreak started locally, the council pays tribute to those who sadly lost their lives to Covid-19.
Teenage campaigner receives high honour
A tireless campaigner for Bolton’s young people has received deserved recognition for his work championing the causes of underrepresented groups.