CORONAVIRUS MESSAGE FROM CRISPIN BLUNT – MP FOR REIGATE - 15th April 2020
Dear Constituents,
I am writing to you in these extremely difficult times to thank all of you for such strong support and unity in our fight to control the Coronavirus pandemic locally, and also to provide some information which I hope is helpful.
The quality of our local response means that we are living in a part of the country most prepared and equipped not only to deal with the medical crisis, but all the social care, business and finance, and goods distribution challenges that the pandemic has unleashed upon the community, public services, and emergency services.
We are all immeasurably grateful for the bravery and dedication of all the NHS workers in our area, including those based at East Surrey Hospital, First Community Health & Care and all of the GP Surgeries across East Surrey. The same applies to all the health and social care workers, who continue to support vulnerable people despite extremely difficult conditions, as well as our emergency services, delivery workers, supermarket and corner shop staff, chemists, post office staff, local parish and district councils, and all other essential service workers, including the fantastic effort from the voluntary sector, all of whom are keeping the foundations of our community social fabric working whilst non-essential services have closed down as requested.
I also pass on my heartfelt condolences to the families and close friends of local people that have been tragically lost due to the disease.
As far as the County of Surrey is concerned, as of 14th April, there are 1,441 confirmed cases of Coronavirus, out of a local population of 1,189,934, with the total UK figure at 93,873. We all know that these official figures understate the actual number of cases which include untested infections and make the total much higher. The key to this is the number of people who are hospitalised or develop acute symptoms in care facilities or at home. Whichever way we look at it, this remains a worrying situation and, hard as it may seem, we must all continue to play our part in preventing further contagion by following the Government Guidelines on self-isolation and public hygiene behaviour. The more we do this, the sooner we will be able to reduce the pressure on our hospitals and get the economy fully functioning again.
As this is a fast-moving situation, there are several sources of regularly updated information and advice about the Coronavirus epidemic that you can access, in addition to, and in more detail than that provided by the media:
For updates and news on the Government initiatives and guidance to tackle the crisis, I would refer you to:
For updates on the Surrey County response to the Coronavirus crisis, I would refer you
to: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/people-and-community/emergency-planning-and-community-safety/coronavirus
For updates on the Reigate and Banstead Borough Council's exceptional local response to Coronavirus, I would refer you to:
https://www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/coronavirus
I am also posting regular updates for my constituents on my Web-Site here:
https://www.blunt4reigate.com/covid-19-coronavirus-updates
as well as on my Facebook page @crispinblunt4reigate and on my Twitter account @CrispinBlunt
For any person who is vulnerable or in need of specific and urgent help or advice, please call the following helplines, where you will be able to access the support that you need:
Surrey County Council Helpline - 0300 200 1008
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council Helpline – 01737 276000 or email communitypartnerships@reigate-banstead.gov.uk
For any person who wishes to donate money to help sustain the voluntary efforts to support vulnerable and isolated local residents during the crisis, you can donate to The Community Fund for Reigate and Banstead here:
https://www.cfsurrey.org.uk/fund/rbf/
For anyone wishing to sign up as a volunteer to help the local voluntary response efforts, please contact Voluntary Action Reigate and Banstead (VARB) here:
As you can imagine, I am receiving a large number of specific inquiries from constituents on a range of COVID19 related issues. Along with my team, I am working through these steadily and prioritising those where I can make a difference or influence a response, or where I can signpost to an expert or influencer. Please be assured that my team and I (all working from home) are working hard to respond to all inquiries as quickly as possible. Please do feel free to contact me by email at crispin.blunt.mp@parliament.uk. However, I would urge you to consider how necessary and critical your inquiry is before emailing so that I can focus on the most important and urgent issues.
Thank you once again for your support for these efforts. We do not yet know how long we will be required to adhere to the current restrictions, but we must be patient and calm. After this is over, I am sure we will all be proud of how we have responded and perhaps come away with a greater common awareness of our individual value within our community.
Finally, a reminder of the current headline public guidance:
- Stay at home
- Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (where this absolutely cannot be done from home)
- Stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people
- Wash your hands as soon as you get home
You can spread the virus even if you don't have symptoms.
More information and guidance from Public Health England on coronavirus (or COVID-19) can be found on nhs.uk/coronavirus
The repeated advice from experts at Public Health England is that hygiene practices, such as regularly washing hands and always sneezing or coughing into a tissue is the best way to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
You should:
- wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
- always wash your hands when you get home or into work
- use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
- cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
- put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterward