Coronavirus

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Coronavirus-19 AG Community Aid Group

If You Need to Ask for Help

If you are in a vulnerable group as outlined by the government or self-isolating we have a network of people in the AG community who are here to help

Due to the pandemic quite a lot of us are going to have to stay isolated, and maybe for quite some time. We have got several people who have put their names forward to be contacted if you need help. All of them will be able to pass on your requests immediately to the right team of volunteers :

The above people can put you in touch with someone who can help you with:

  • Picking up shopping
  • Posting mail
  • A friendly phone call
  • Collecting prescriptions or urgent supplies
  • Walking the dog

If you are in a vulnerable group (see list below) or self-isolating, please consider using the services advertised above rather than going out and about yourself. Just give your local contact above a call.  

Alternatively you can click the button below to fill in a contact form and your request for help will be sent directly to our community coordinators who will get in touch:

Submit request for help online

Who is most vulnerable?

  • People aged 70 or older (regardless of medical condition) 
  • People under 70 with an underlying health condition listed below:
    • Chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma
    • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
    • Emphysema or bronchitis 
    • Chronic heart disease, such as heart failure 
    • Chronic kidney disease
    • Chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis
    • Chronic neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), a learning disability or cerebral palsy
    • Diabetes 
    • A problem with your spleen such as sickle cell disease or if you have had a spleen removed 
    • A weakened immune system such as HIV and AIDS or medicines such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy 
    • Being seriously overweight (a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or above) 
  • Those who are pregnant

We have set up a central hub for coordinating people – we need to know who is vulnerable, elderly or will need help of any kind. We have already got a list of volunteers who have given us their names, but we know we will need many more.

If you would like to volunteer to help, then please see the What Can I do to Help section below.

Important info

Mental health and wellbeing

An NHS Site EVERY MIND MATTERS now has lots of advice and tips about how to look after your mental health while you’re staying at home, and how to deal with anxiety about the coronavirus outbreak. It gives valuable advice on maintaining mental wellbeing for those at home, and also direct links to seek help through NHS recommended helplines, and a link to seek urgent support if you or anyone you know should need it. Search Every Mind Matters here

St Andrews is now closed, but pastoral care will continue.

The government has now requested that all churches be closed now to prevent the spread of the virus in publically used places, so the time switch on the door has been disabled for the time being, and the door is locked. However, Neil Barker is always available for anybody to contact him at all, whether regular churchgoer or not. He carries his mobile with him at all times – 07483 250681 – or his landline number is – 01548 550 730.

Shop update – please, no more than 2 customers in at one time

Please Note; Updated at the beginning of April. As the shop is so small, this will help to safeguard everybody who is working in there, but also keep you all safe as well.
Thank you all very much

Keep in touch!

One way everybody can keep in instant contact with one another is by setting up and using WhatsApp. It’s already being used by many self-help local groups around the country who are a couple of weeks ahead with the spread of the infection than we are, and it’s proved to be one of the best ways of keeping in touch, especially for asking for help, and for local groups to organise their own volunteer teams.

Most people who have mobile phones will be able to use WhatsApp, so it’s a really useful way of keeping our elderly and vulnerable and housebound in the loop. And once we all have much tighter restrictions on our movements, it’s a great way of just chatting to them! Please can you help any of your neighbours to download the app so that they can talk to you at least – you mustn’t get too close to anyone self-isolating, but there will still be a way for you to get them connected as long as you don’t do anything that might transmit the virus by any form of physical contact with their phone (Govt advice is that if you touch anything with a hard surface the virus can stay active for up to 72 hours)

Information Directory

Below is key information for getting help during this period of social distancing and self isolation – simply click on a heading to view the information. Also, included in each section are the latest relevant posts from the Aveton Gifford Facebook Page.

Forthcoming Events

While none of us know yet just how long our lives will have to be restricted and our events will be affected, the parish council has had to make a couple of decisions.

Swimming Pool

The swimming pool will not be opening this year in May after all, as both the training sessions and the use of the pool will bring people into too much close contact. However, if we find that later in the year the coronovirus situation should allow some of these present restrictions to be relaxed, Nigel has said that he can provide a crash resuscitation course so that we could open for the end of the season. If that happens, full details will be available on our website, Facebook page, parish noticeboards

Bantham Swoosh

The Bantham Swoosh and its companion swim, the Bantham Boomerang have both been cancelled. They are the first events of the year in the OSS calendar. The OSS team will decide later on in the year whether to rearrange the event on a later date, virus control permitting, or whether to cancel it completely, but will let us know their decision in due course.

Car Show

At the moment it’s far too soon for any decisions from the car show committee about the Classic Car Show in August, but any information will again go on to the AG website and Facebook pages as we know it.

What can I do to help?

Volunteer Sign Up Form

There have been lots of offers of help, and many good ideas that have come forward in the last few days. The parish council will now take on the management and co-ordination for these so that we can put things in place to help everybody out during what is going to be a very testing time. The councillors want to reassure you that they are already working to get things in place, and in particular, to make sure that help gets out to older or more vulnerable people who will have to lead more restricted lives now.

  • We need to identify all of our residents who will need special help over the coming months. If you will need help yourself or could suggest a neighbour who might, please will you let us know
  • We will need to draw up a list of volunteers as well. You can use the volunteer sign up form above (simply clic on the button and fill out the form), or contact us through Facebook. Alternatively please contact Ros Brousson who is drawing up this list – 01548 550792 or [email protected]. It would be helpful if you could please add if you have any particular skill, or have a car which could help with deliveries, or bringing back shopping 
  • We had this very helpful suggestion sent through this week which we’d like to pass on:

If all the younger healthy people and families could choose one elderly neighbour each to help through the whole duration isolation period, once or twice a week for shopping etc… then the whole parish could be covered and no one should go without. A handful of people can’t help everyone. Please at least help ONE elderly neighbour it will make a difference.

We have already had some very helpful offers of help, and would like to thank everybody who has already volunteered for shopping, driving, deliveries, collection of  prescriptions etc.

We will also make sure that we get the best advice possible to keep you all safe for deliveries and assistance – both for anyone who is isolated and also our volunteers.

And finally… thank you all very much for all your help and support for each other in the weeks to come.

Advice from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations

Here’s how you can volunteer to help and support others during the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic.

Look out for your neighbours

The simplest thing everyone can do right now is look out for their neighbours and offer help with shopping and other errands.

It’s not just about neighbours who are self-isolating or vulnerable. Other people in the community who might also appreciate help are:

  • stretched medical staff and volunteers
  • staff and volunteers in key worker roles
  • supermarket workers
  • delivery drivers.

Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint – your help will be even more crucial in a few weeks’ time. For now, the best thing to do is to check in on neighbours.

Stay safe when supporting others

  1. Let family and friends know what you’re doing.
  2. Support family, friends and neighbours by phone or video call.
  3. Stay at least two metres – about three steps – away from people you’re helping.
  4. Offer to run errands for people but stay outside of people’s homes.
  5. Keep washing your hands often for 20 seconds.
  6. Don’t take on too much – it’s often better not to offer at all than to let someone down.
  7. If you’re trying to help someone with very serious issues – don’t be afraid to flag with appropriate statutory services.
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