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"Dear Resident,
This weekend, the need
for us to continue to do all we can stop the spread of the virus and
#StayAtHome remains the most important message.
News that the Prime
Minister and the Health Secretary have contracted Coronavirus, brings into
stark focus the fact that this dreadful disease can affect any one of us and
why we must apply social distancing. These are exceptional circumstances and the number of people
in Newham being tested positive for coronavirus is rising at an alarming rate
– 195 as of today, a rise of 48 since yesterday.
It has been a week of
rapidly moving events. Since Monday’s new restrictions placed by the
government; at the Council we immediately put in place a series of protective
measures and the full details of changes to services can be found here: www.newham.gov.uk’servicestatus.
We’ve also had the
announcement of the NHS Nightingale field hospital that will open in Newham
soon, and the launch mid-week of the #HelpNewham network of local hubs across
the community neighbourhoods. They will be the hubs through which we’ll
distribute food, prescriptions and other essential items so that our most
vulnerable residents are supported; nor isolated as they include a
borough-wide telephone chat service. We’ve had a fantastic response and my
thanks to everyone stepping forward to support this crucial effort.
On Monday, I joined 22
other council leaders in urging the government to support workers who are
self-employed and have little to fall back on. So the Chancellor’s
announcement on Thursday, of a new self-employed income support scheme is a welcomed step,
which is a welcomed measure to help the self-employed, but a small step in
response to the economic hardship
Over the past three weeks,
I’ve been urgently working with senior colleagues at the Council to deal with
the biggest public health crisis this country, and the world, has faced.
The effect of the
coronavirus pandemic on our daily lives is exceptional. We know the health
impact has the potential to be deadly and we know the financial impact will
be devastating for many of our residents and small businesses in Newham.
The scale of the
impending unemployment surge as a result of coronavirus is clear in official
figures. These show that in the last nine days alone, 477,000 people have
applied for universal benefit. That’s more applications than the entire year
of 2019.
We know that more
needs to be done, that’s why we are working with other Labour leaders and the
Labour Party shadow team, plus the Mayor of London to urge government to
unlock the money made available to small businesses urgently; and address
outstanding issues and needs of workers, including the thousands of Newham
residents that are in insecure work or zero-hour contracts.
We are also urging
the government to give Council’s more money to deal with the impact of this
pandemic. Supporting
workers and businesses in Newham is an important part of our response to
coronavirus, as is continuing our Community Wealth Building ambitions during
this crisis and being ready to rebuild our local economy when we can.
At the council, we
will continue to do all we can to help our residents who are struggling;
that’s why yesterday I announced that next week we’ll be providing 100% Council
Tax Reduction Relief to our 19,500 lowest income households - you can
read more in the section below.
The week ended with
news that the Government has asked all councils in England to house rough
sleepers off the streets by the weekend to ‘protect their health and stop
wider transmission, particularly in hot spot areas’. Rough sleepers are a
highly vulnerable group in our community that we are prioritising, and they
need our care during this outbreak.
We have been working
hard to implement an emergency action plan and provided self-contained
accommodation for rough sleepers, housing 65 people to date in Newham; but
the numbers keep rising. That’s why the Council sought and were granted legal
permission to be able to close Stratford Shopping Centre overnight between
8pm and 5am.
The step has been
considered necessary on public health grounds and is part of the Council’s
response to dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, following an order by the
government asking all local authorities in England to house rough sleepers
off the streets by this weekend. See the statement that I published a short
while ago in the section below.
As you settle in for
the evening, please keep following the NHS guidance: wash your hands for 20
seconds frequently; minimise social contact with others; work from home where
possible; stop social gatherings with other people including in parks,
recreational areas and places of worship. Only travel if it is essential and
keep up with the social distance measures, which are vital.
For all the latest and
best advice please visit:
• Newham Council: www.newham.gov.uk/Coronavirus
• NHS Guidance: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
• NHS 111: https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19
Stay safe and well.
Yours in solidarity,
Rokhsana
Labour Mayor of Newham
Follow what I'm up to
on Twitter: @rokhsanafiaz
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