Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, last week the Labour Party ceased all its CLP campaigning, meetings and events.

Yesterday the government announced new recommendations:-

* avoid all “non-essential contact” with over 70s, people with underlying health conditions and pregnant women. We are adviced to stop all unnecessary travel, if possible working from home. We should avoid pubs, clubs and theatres etc.

*only use the NHS when we really need to. And please go online rather than ringing NHS 111.

* entire households to self-isolate for 14 days if someone developed a fever or a persistent cough. If possible you should not go out even to buy food or essentials, other than for exercise, and in that case at a safe distance from others. If necessary, you should ask for help from others for your daily necessities.

So, life will be different for a while. This pandemic has shown us that there IS such a thing as society. Community does matters. More than any other time community engagement is what we need to focus on. We need to pull together as a town, helping each other whilst these recommendations apply.

Here are some ways you can help:-

* Donate to Eastbourne food bank as they have been short of donations recently. “Our stocks are currently low on UHT milk, Fray Bentos meat pies, tinned potatoes and Smash, tinned carrots, spaghetti and sweetcorn and yes, you guessed, toilet rolls! If you would like to drop any donations to our warehouse in Hampden Park, we are open weekdays 8am – 1pm. Thank you so much”.

Unit 3
55 Brampton Road
Eastbourne
BN22 9AF

• Two million workers in the UK are not currently entitled to sick pay and may get into financial difficulty if they cannot attend work due to coronavirus. Please sign the TUC’s petition calling for sick pay provision for every worker from day one. It can be found here: https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/sick-pay-for-every-worker-on-day-one?source=tucwebsite

• Please keep in touch with friends, family and neighbours and offer help and support to those who need to self-isolate.

* Advice from the Government on social distancing and self-isolation.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

* Offer support to local Covid-19 Mutual Aid Groups eg:-

1) Helping the Elderly and Vulnerable During Coronavirus Outbreak Eastbourne:-

2) Eastbourne Emergency Support:- https://www.facebook.com/groups/209990740112555/* Offer support or register for phone befriending service being set up by for anyone stuck at home feeling isolated. “If you, or anyone you know, would like to receive calls, or if you would like to volunteer to keep in phone contact with someone else, please email:- eastbournevolunteers@gmail.com for more information”.
Facebook link:-
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2802378229876000&id=1058006370979870

More to follow.