Wiltshire Council is broadcasting its next COVID-19 live update on 27 January

Wiltshire Council will be broadcasting its fourth live public COVID-19 update next week, which will include an NHS update on the local vaccination programme, the latest local information on the council's response, and answering questions sent in by residents.

The broadcast takes place on Wednesday 27 January at 7pm. The live briefing will be broadcast via Microsoft Teams and viewers should use this link to access the broadcast: COVID-19 Public Update - 27 January replay (opens new window)

Wiltshire Council Leader, Cllr Philip Whitehead, will once again be joined by Terence Herbert, Chief Executive of Wiltshire Council, and Kate Blackburn, Director of Public Health, to help guide people through the latest information and regulations.

They will also be joined by Andy Brown, the council's Corporate Director for Resources, who will be providing a financial update following the recent publication of the draft budget proposals for 2021/2022, which outlines how the council will help the county recover from COVID-19.

Gill May, Director of Nursing and Quality for the BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire CCG, will be on hand to provide an update on the local rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

The broadcast will also be an opportunity to hear about the latest rate of COVID-19 cases in Wiltshire, arrangements in place to mitigate the spread of the virus, and the work Wiltshire Council continues to do to support residents and businesses at this time.

Residents can submit their questions about COVID-19 and the local response in advance by emailing communications@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window) no later than 5pm on Monday 25 January.

The briefing will also be recorded and available via the council's YouTube channel as soon as possible afterwards (people should search for Wiltshire Council on YouTube).

Cllr Philip Whitehead, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: There is a lot of information out there to navigate through, and we're pleased that we can help provide some clarity using these public broadcasts.

With the vaccine rollout now underway across Wiltshire and the publication of our draft budget, there continues to be plenty of important information to update people on.

I ask that people send in their questions ahead of the broadcast to help us try to make sure the session covers what they would like to know so everyone gets the most out of the session.

Gill May, Director of Nursing and Quality, said: The vaccination rollout is a fast-moving project and I know that many people have questions, especially about when they can expect to receive the vaccine.

While we can't say exactly when each and every person will be vaccinated, what we can say is that all our community-based vaccination sites are now up and running.

We have already offered the vaccine to thousands of local people who are included within the priority groups outlined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, such as those over 80, health and care workers and care home residents, and we will be informed very soon of when we can begin vaccinating further.