The latest news and advice on COVID-19

Staying alert and safe

NHS test and trace: how it works

The NHS test and trace service:

• ensures that anyone who develops symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) can quickly be tested to find out if they have the virus, and also includes targeted asymptomatic testing of NHS and social care staff and care home residents
• helps trace close recent contacts of anyone who tests positive for coronavirus and, if necessary, notifies them that they must self-isolate at home to help stop the spread of the virus

This service has been introduced to help return life more to normal, in a way that is safe and protects our NHS and social care. It will allow us to trace the spread of the virus and isolate new infections and play a vital role giving us early warning if the virus is increasing again, locally or nationally.

More info on NHS Test and Trace

Parking charges to be reintroduced at all Wiltshire Council car parks

We are reintroducing parking charges at all car parks, and on residential and on-street parking areas in the county from Monday 1 June. All parking permits and season tickets will also restart from this date, and parking wardens will enforce any parking contraventions in the county.

On 25 March, the government gave NHS and care workers free use of all council parking and this will continue until further notice, however, we went one step further and suspended all parking charges, including in residential areas, from the 27 March which was to be reconsidered when the government issued new guidance.

More info on parking charges being reintroduced

Household recycling centres update

All of our household recycling centres (HRCs), apart from Stanton St Quintin, have been open for a couple of weeks now, and although the queues have been long, they have been well managed.

If your waste cannot safely be stored at home and you must travel to a HRC, please note the following:

• We’re operating a postcode entry system – check your postcode.
• Several HRCs are operating different opening hours – check opening hours.
• For sites that are open all day, queues are slightly shorter in the afternoons, but you will still have a long wait of at least an hour – so please only attend if you really cannot store your waste at home.
• If you really must travel to a HRC, your nearest site may not be the one with the shortest queue.
• Save a wasted journey by checking what you can and can’t bring to a HRC.

Remember that only one person per vehicle can get out – this is to protect our staff and ensure social distancing.

More information and FAQs

Retail stores and shops set to reopen next month

Thousands of high street shops, department stores and shopping centres across England are set to reopen next month, if they are COVID-19 secure and can show customers will be kept safe.

• Outdoor markets and car showrooms will be able to reopen from 1 June, as soon as they are able to meet the COVID-19 secure guidelines to protect shoppers and workers. As with garden centres, the risk of transmission of the virus is lower in these outdoor and more open spaces. Car showrooms often have significant outdoor space and it is generally easier to apply social distancing.

All other non-essential retail including shops selling clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, books, electronics, plus tailors, auction houses, photography studios and indoor markets, are expected to be able to reopen from 15 June if the Government’s five tests are met and they follow the COVID-19 secure guidelines, giving them three weeks to prepare.

More info on retail stores and shops reopening next month

Social distancing guidance for young people

The Cabinet Office has recently published guidance for young people in England on social distancing, that explains the new measures that will help young people stay safe as rules on being outside, or at school or work, change.

The guidance covers visiting public places, meeting in groups, going to work, and going to other people’s houses. It also includes advice for young carers and information on how to access health and care services.

More info on social distancing guidance for young people

Active at Home booklet

This ‘Active at Home’ booklet has been produced to provide practical guidance to older adults on home-based activities to maintain their strength and balance.

It follows concerns that low levels of physical activity in older adults will lead to reduced fitness resulting in loss of independence and need for care in the future.

Download the Active at Home booklet now

Wiltshire company offers helping hands to schools

A Wiltshire company is offering a helping hand by donating 3,000 hand sanitisers to local schools as they prepare for the summer term.

Meiyume, based in Trowbridge, is providing the kit and Wiltshire Council’s passenger transport unit is organising the logistics so all schools will have them in the summer term.

The generous donation is part of wider preparations including Wiltshire Council co-ordinating a massive effort for schools to order PPE packs. It also builds on local schools creating their own mini manufacturing lines to help, with St Josephs in Salisbury providing free visors for all schools after they successfully crowd funded £40k.

More info on 3,000 hand sanitisers being donated to local schools

Timings to change at pedestrian crossings

We are making changes to the time it takes for signal controlled pedestrian crossings to turn to the green man, to reduce the amount of time pedestrians are stood at a crossing, and in turn aid social distancing.

At most pedestrian crossings in Wiltshire, it can take up to 30 seconds from the time a pedestrian presses the button on a crossing for the ‘safe to cross’ green man to appear. However, this time is being reduced to a maximum of 15 seconds so pedestrians don’t have to wait so long, particularly in busy places.

More info on the changes at signal controlled pedestrian crossings

Resident who witnessed fly-tipping rewarded

A vigilant man has become the first Wiltshire resident to receive a financial reward through our We’re Targeting Fly-tipping (WTF) campaign after witnessing an offence of fly-tipping in Purton.

Information was collated by the resident and provided to us, which resulted in a £400 fixed penalty being paid by the offender after admitting the fly-tipping offence.

The man witnessed an electrician from Swindon fly-tipping the waste from the rear of his works van on to a grass verge in Purton, and noted the vehicle registration as soon as he identified that the offence of fly-tipping was being committed. The witness then reported the incident via the My Wiltshire app and provided a witness statement to our environmental enforcement officers.

More info on the first financial reward through our WTF campaign