Coronavirus (COVID-19)

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Public health information

Support available and community groups

Community testing

Government COVID-19 plan - autumn and winter response

The Government has published its autumn and winter COVID-19 response plan and we are asking you to continue to do what you can to protect one another and local health services at a challenging time.

Booster vaccines will be offered to those who received a vaccination in phase 1 of the programme. 12-15 year olds will be offered a first dose and this will be carried out by the NHS in conjunction with school immunisation teams.

It is expected that everyone with COVID-19 symptoms continues to self‑isolate and take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The legal requirement to self-isolate for 10 days if an individual tests positive for COVID-19 will remain in place in order to prevent those who are infected from mixing in the community and passing on the virus. Over autumn and winter PCR testing for those with COVID-19 symptoms will continue to be available free of charge.

Regular asymptomatic testing will continue to help find cases and break the chains of transmission. It will be particularly focused on those who are not fully vaccinated, those in education, and those in higher-risk settings such as the NHS, social care, and prisons.

To help support health services, at an already busy time, a free flu vaccination will be available for more people than normal. It will be available to the previously eligible groups, which includes primary school children, 65 year olds and over, vulnerable groups, and pregnant women. Eligibility for a free flu vaccination this year will also be extended to include secondary school children and 50-64 year olds.

The Government will shortly set out a revised framework for international travel, in advance of the next formal checkpoint review, with a deadline of 1 October.

Mandatory vaccine‑only certification will not be implemented from the end of September where large crowds gather, but this does remain a contingency option.

Please continue to wear a mask in enclosed indoor spaces; wash or sanitise hands regularly; isolate and book a PCR test if you have any COVID-19 symptoms; getting the vaccine when offered; and taking regular lateral flow tests to help break transmission.

The full plan can be found at Government COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan.

News

Vaccinations

The national programme to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds has started. Here in Wiltshire, alongside partners, we're working with schools and their immunisations teams to start rolling this out in our local schools. More information on the announcement of the national programme: Universal vaccination of children and young people aged 12 to 15 years against COVID-19

Children aged 12 to 15 who are at increased risk of serious COVID-19 disease are being offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. It has also been recommended that children and young people aged 12 to 17 who live with an immunosuppressed person should be offered the vaccine.

More information on the announcement and which under 18s are eligible for the vaccine is available at GOV.UK: vaccination.

We would encourage everyone who is eligible to take up the vaccine to do so as soon as possible, including 16 and 17 years olds who have been offered a single dose.

Anyone over 18 years can book their vaccine online: NHS: Book or manage your coronavirus vaccination.

Anyone of any age, including those aged 16 and 17 years, can attend a walk-in vaccination site where no booking is required: Walk-in coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination sites.

A test collection model for twice-weekly rapid COVID-19 home testing

There are seven local test collection sites that we have opened across Wiltshire, offering the option to collect lateral flow test kits for use at home:

• Devizes Leisure Centre
• Bourne Hill in Salisbury
• Monkton Park in Chippenham
• Springfield Community Campus in Corsham
• Calne Leisure Centre
• The Vale Community Campus in Pewsey
• Nadder Centre in Tisbury

These are open in line with the leisure centre and building opening hours so please check before you set off.

All of the lateral flow test collection sites around the county including our sites and pharmacies can be found on this map, which includes opening hours and the status of the site:

View a map of all lateral flow test collection sites

People can also continue to collect tests from the Salisbury Beehive Park and Ride site and the Trowbridge Greyhound Pub Car Park site, which both also offer asymptomatic testing, and more information on these sites is available on NHS Rapid Test Collection COVID-19 Test and Vaccination Site Finder.

The other ways that people can access lateral flow tests include:

• a home ordering service, which allows people to order lateral flow tests online to be delivered to their home, or by calling 119 between 7am to 11pm if they cannot order online
• workplace testing programmes, on-site or at home
• testing at schools and colleges

Anyone who is asymptomatic can collect lateral flow tests at the collection sites without booking.

This testing is being rolled out because around one in three people with COVID-19 do not have symptoms. Rapid lateral flow tests help to find cases in people who may have no symptoms but are still infectious and can give the virus to others.

The at home test kits are intended for use twice weekly, and results can be logged online. If the test result is positive with an at-home lateral flow test, people need to take a PCR test to confirm the result. PCR tests can be booked through www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test. If someone tests positive, they may also claim for a Test and trace support payment if they are eligible.

People who have any symptoms of coronavirus should not use this service. Symptoms include a high temperature, a new, persistent cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste. Free testing continues to be available to everyone in Wiltshire who has COVID-19 symptoms, and people who show symptoms must book a test online or call 119. Testing with symptoms is offered at the regional and local testing sites.

More information, including frequently asked questions  can be found at our community testing page.

Cases

You can find up-to-date information about the latest number of COVID-related deaths in the Wiltshire Council area at GOV.UK.

Hospitalisations

You can find more on the hospital admissions by trust level.