COVID-19 update: a message from Rachel Flowers, Croydon’s director of public health

Yesterday the government announced that there will be a further tightening of national preventative measures towards Covid-19 in response to concerns about the Omicron variant. The move to tighter restrictions aims to give us time to understand the omicron variant and administer more Covid-19 booster jabs.

You must:

  • Work from home where possible from Monday 13 December
  • Wear a face covering in pubs, restaurants, libraries, museums, theatres and cinemas as well as transport and shops from Friday 10 December
  • Vaccine passports available to the double-vaccinated on the NHS app will be necessary for those attending large venues such as nightclubs and concerts from next week
  • Take daily lateral flow tests if you are a contact of someone positive – to minimise disruption instead of isolating

As you would have seen in recent media reports, the numbers of cases is increasing nationally and in Croydon. You can find Croydon’s incidence rate here.

Christmas is around the corner and we all want to see friends and family, so let’s do all we can now, to stay safe and well.

The most important way we can tackle the virus is to:

  • Get vaccinated as soon as we are eligible – so I would ask everyone to please take up your first, second and booster doses as soon as you are offered
  • Follow the public health advice on hands, face, space and fresh air to reduce the risk of infection spreading

Rapid testing is a really important part of our defence. Even if you have no symptoms, 1 in 3 of you could still have coronavirus and risk passing it to people you care about. You can get take a free, rapid lateral flow test in the post or by ordering your test kits by post or visiting our pop up sites. For more information, visit the Croydon Council lateral flow pages.

Croydon residents have been magnificent in their efforts to help control the spread of Covid-19, and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your resilience and determination to help not only yourself, but your community.

Working together, with each and every one of us doing our bit through vaccinations and following public health guidance for hands, face, space, we can and will combat the spread of this deadly virus.

Stay safe,

Rachel Flowers, Croydon’s director of public health

2021-12-09T16:24:40+00:00 December 9th, 2021|Recent news|