Coronavirus (COVID-19): Latest Advice

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

The Government has released detailed advice about who and when people should be self-isolating and what to do if you are showing symptoms, however mild, having recently travelled back from areas/countries with a large outbreak.

The current advice as of today, 11th March 2020 is the following:

If you have returned from these specific areas in the last 14 days, you should call NHS111 and stay indoors and avoid contact with other people even if you do not have symptoms:

It is imperative that these rules are followed to prevent/slowdown the spread of the virus and to protect the service users that we work with.

We will not allow anyone to work for 14 days if you have recently returned from the locations listed above and if you are showing any symptoms, however mild and recently returned from the areas/countries listed below.

If you have travelled to the UK from these areas in the last 14 days and you are experiencing a cough or fever or shortness of breath, you must stay indoors and call NHS 111, even if the symptoms are mild.

  • Mainland China outside of Hubei province
  • Italy outside of the lockdown areas before 9th March
  • South Korea outside of the special care zones
  • Cambodia
  • Hong Kong
  • Japan
  • Laos
  • Macau
  • Malaysia
  • Myanmar
  • Singapore
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam

You must also call 111 if you have been in close contact with someone with confirmed coronavirus and follow the advice given by 111

The symptoms of COVID-19 are:

  • a high temperature
  • a dry cough
  • shortness of breath

These symptoms do not necessarily mean you have the illness. The symptoms are similar to other illnesses that are much more common, such as cold and flu. 111 will be able to give you advice if you are concerned that you are showing these symptoms and you must follow their advice.

Not only is it vital that we take whatever steps that are needed to keep the service users that we work with safe, our care staff's health is also important to us and we will be looking to the Government for their latest advice on this. Public Health England released latest guidance for social or community care and residential settings on COVID-19 on 25th February. We would expect all of our clients to be following this guidance and if there is an outbreak within a particular home, then Public Health England will give further, more specific advice on how to deal with the outbreak.

Please note that the information contained in this news article could change daily and Public Health England will update their advice at 2pm every day so please check the Government’s website for daily updates.

You can also read our Coronavirus Policy that applies to all staff, candidates and workers here.