England has once again moved into a full national lockdown.

The lockdown restrictions will be in place for a minimum of seven weeks with the next review due to take place on 15 February. The Government hopes to offer the first dose of the vaccine to the most at-risk groups during this period, including those over the age of 70 and those classed as clinically extremely vulnerable.

The Rules

You must stay at home and only go out for a limited number of reasons, including:

  • To work where it is not reasonably possible to work from home
  • To shop for basic necessities for you or a vulnerable person
  • To exercise with your household/support bubble. You can exercise with one other person from outside your household/support bubble but this should be limited to once per day
  • To meet your support or childcare bubble
  • To seek medical assistance or to escape harm (including domestic abuse)
  • To attend education or childcare (NB nurseries remain open but schools are only open to vulnerable children and children of key workers

You should not meet socially with anyone who is not in your household or support bubble. When exercising, you should remain within your local area.

There are currently no restrictions on moving home during the lockdown, though people from outside your household or support bubble should not help with the move unless necessary. This means that residents that are due to move into one of your almshouses can continue to do so. If you’re currently looking to fill a vacancy, you will need to conduct any interviews by video or teleconference. When a resident moves in, they should only be greeted by one member of staff or trustee and social distancing should be maintained at all times.  

Full details on the lockdown can be found at:
www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home. 

Restrictions also continue to apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Details on these restrictions can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

Shielding

Those who are classed as clinically extremely vulnerable will be sent a letter by their GP shortly with details on action they should take and support that is available to them. Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable should not attend work and limit their exposure to other people. They should limit their time outside their homes to medical appointments and exercises only.

Please note that whilst older people are more at risk of severe illness if they contract Covid-19, old age itself does not class someone as clinically extremely vulnerable. To find out more about who is classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, visit:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19#cev

What you should be doing?

The new lockdown is very similar to that in March last year and your charity should revert to the processes it had in place at that time. This could include:

  • Closing common rooms and ensuring that outdoor furniture is adequately spaced apart to allow for social distancing
  • Regular cleaning of high touchpoint areas, such as entrance halls and stairwells (particularly handrails)
  • Closing guest rooms
  • Replacing warden visits with regular phone calls
  • Contacting next of kin and local volunteer groups to ensure residents are getting shopping delivered
  • Developing a rota for communal facilities such as laundries and ensuring that they are cleaned on a more frequent basis. Provide hand sanitiser and cleaning wipes for residents to use whilst in these areas
  • Providing residents with puzzles, games and details of exercises they can do within their own homes to keep them healthy and occupied
  • Developing and advising residents of the process they should follow if they believe they have contracted Cobid-19 and/or are hospitalised. You may wish to ask residents to update their next of kin details

The Government has developed guidance for managers of supported living. Although some of the guidance will not be relevant to almshouse charities, it nonetheless provides guidance on cleaning, PPE, managing outbreaks, and visitors and support bubbles. The guidance can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/supported-living-services-during-coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-guidance-for-supported-living.

Don’t forget, the Almshouse Association offers an online course on infection prevention and control. You may wish to ask your staff to complete this course in the coming days. If your charity requires more course credits (you will need one credit per person to take the course), please contact us at admin@almshouses.org. The course can be found at:
www.almshouses.org/training-seminars/online-training-sessions/

Some almshouse charities may choose to treat their residents as one household and ‘close the gates’. Before taking this approach, you must get the agreement of all residents that this is what they would like to do. Residents may prefer to form support bubbles with other households instead.

If you believe a resident is breaking the lockdown rules, you should speak to the resident and remind them of the restrictions and the impact their behaviour could have on their neighbours. This should be followed up with a written warning if they continue to break the rules. In extreme circumstances (e.g. if a resident regularly has multiple guests), you may wish to contact the police.

Posted 5 January 21