Latest COVID-19 update from RMBC….

COVID-19 header

Tuesday 7 July 2020

Due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19), we will now be providing regular email updates for residents to let you know about the latest information we have and any changes to local services that may be affected.

If you do not wish to receive these updates please click on “unsubscribe” at the bottom of the page.

You can check the latest information on our website at any time by going to https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/coronavirus


Keep Rotherham open

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Help Keep Rotherham Open

With national lockdown measures beginning to ease, Rotherham residents are being reminded that the additional freedoms we get back come with additional responsibility. It’s still essential that everyone continues to play their part – if we don’t, more restrictions will need to return.

To Help Keep Rotherham Open it’s more important than ever that:

Please share this message with your friends and family. Feel free to download and share the Help Keep Rotherham Open graphic on your social media accounts, using the #HelpKeepRotherhamOpen hashtag, and follow the Council on Twitter and Facebook too for further updates.

Download the Help Keep Rotherham Open graphic (224KB)

Help Keep Rotherham Open - outbreak prevention posters

You may see these posters out and about around Rotherham. These are available to you too download, print and display – maybe in your window or on a noticeboard at your place of work. You can download your own copies below

Download poster 1 – keep two metres apart (629KB)

Download poster 2 – wash your hands often (600KB)

Download poster 3 – got symptoms, get tested (608KB)


Lockdown restrictions: What can I do now?

Over the weekend and into Monday this week the guidelines on what we can and cannot do have changed. On Saturday 4 July pubs, restaurants and some non-essential businesses were able to reopen. On Monday 6 July new guidelines for people who are shielding came into effect. These changes are summarised below. Full details can be found on the government website by following the links

Updated guidance for people who are shielding

The government has made some changes to its guidance for people who are shielding because the transmission of Covid-19 in the community has gone down. These changes come into effect today (Monday 6 July). People who are shielding:

  • no longer need to socially distance from people they live with.
  • can meet in a group of up to six people outdoors, including people from other households.
  • may also form a ‘support bubble’ with one other household if they want to, but one of the households in the ‘support bubble’ should be a single adult household (either an adult living alone or with children under 18 only). They can all spend time together outside and inside each other’s homes, including overnight, without needing to socially distance.

Read shielding guidance in full on the government website

General relaxation of lockdown restrictions for people who are not shielding

As of Saturday 4 July, you can:

  • meet in groups of up to two households (your support bubble counts as one household) in any location – public or private, indoors or outdoors. This can be different households at different times. However, you should continue to socially distance from anyone not in your household or bubble. This does not affect the support you may receive from carers.
  • continue to meet in groups of up to six people from different households when outdoors, following social distancing guidelines.

Additionally:

  • single adult households who have been able to form a support bubble can continue to have close contact as if they live with the other people in the bubble, but should not change who you have formed a support bubble with.
  • more businesses and venues, including restaurants, pubs, cinemas, visitor attractions, hotels, and campsites can now open, if they can operate within social distancing guidelines
  • public places, such as libraries, community centres, places of worship, outdoor playgrounds and outdoor gyms can now open. Further details about Council services resuming will be published in this update and on the Council website.
  • you can stay overnight away from your home with your own household or support bubble, or with members of one other household (where you need to keep social distancing)

It is still against the law to gather in groups larger than 30 people, except for a limited set of circumstances set out in law. Police have the power to break up groups larger than 30.

Read more on the FAQs page of the government website


Changes to town centre car parks

Drivers using the multi-story car park on Wellgate in Rotherham Town Centre can now use new ‘pay and display’ machines, which will accept card and contactless payment options as well as coins. Visitors can also use the cashless RingGo option where customers pay through phoning the service or by downloading the App. Parking sessions paid for via the RingGo system can be ‘topped up’ if customers are unexpectedly delayed in returning to their vehicles.

The car park has also been the subject of a deep clean and is being decorated internally to give a brighter, lighter finish.

Read more about changes to Wellgate car park changes


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We produce dedicated news updates for every part of the Rotherham borough! Subscribe to our News from your Neighbourhood e-newsletters, produced monthly for each ward, and stay informed about what is happening in your area.

During the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown period we have been using these e-newsletters to share important information with our communities, and about how Rotherham residents have been playing their part. Stay up-to-date with what’s happening where you live and work by signing up today.

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Capture Rotherham information flyer to download

Capture Rotherham photo competition

Clifton Park Museum is calling on young people and budding junior photographers to enter its photography competition this summer.

The competition is open for young people aged 13 – 25 who live in the communities close to the museum.

Categories include: your experiences during lockdown, places you have visited regularly during lockdown, an image that represents your connection to your community or local area, and your favourite heritage building or site in your area.

Read more and take part in the photo competition