Wiltshire Covid updates on public health, schools and businesses

Provided by Wiltshire Council during a media briefing this morning (January 12), the latest data shows how Covid-19 cases have been rising across the county in the past week.

Information was also given out in regards to the support available for schools and vulnerable families and businesses impacted by the national lockdown. 

1. Public health

Coronavirus cases in Wiltshire are continuing to rise due to the new variant, which is spreading faster among 20-29 year olds.

In the latest weekly period, 1,811 new infections were reported. This means the case rate for the Wiltshire Council area was 362.2.

That's an increase on the previous week when the rate stood at 246.2 though it remains lower than the average for England (629.3).

In Wiltshire there have been 462 registered deaths that included Covid-19 on the death certificate up to December 25 2020.

That's an increase of 11 deaths compared to last week's figures and gives a mortality rate of 92.4 per 100,000.

The England rate is 129.6 per 100,000 while the South West rate is 74.6 per 100,000.

Schools

Wiltshire Council announced it has invested £1.1m from its Government Covid-19 funding to provide 2,500 pupils with access to new laptops.

This means children will be able to access their school lessons from home rather than attend school to do so.

During the summer term Wiltshire Council distributed 1,232 devices provided by the Department for Education across 138 schools which were designated specifically for disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people.

Families with Xbox and PS4 are encouraged to use those as alternatives.

Schools can also request mobile data increases for disadvantaged children and young people who do not have fixed broadband, the council says. 

Short term tablet loans are available for those with no laptops, tablets or smart phones.

More details can be found on the Wiltshire Council's website or via the Family and Community Learning Team on 01225 770478 or familyandcommunitylearning@wiltshire.gov.uk

Businesses

Wiltshire Council is still waiting to hear details on the support measures for businesses announced by the Government.

However, one-off grants are available to closed businesses based on their rateable value:

• £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
• £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
• £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000

A £594 million discretionary fund is also being made available for other impacted businesses but the council says it is still waiting for further guidance before rolling them out.

Existing grant schemes already in place include the Local Restrictions Support Grant which is available for businesses that pay business rates and have been closed or affected by national restrictions. Examples of these would be the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. 

If businesses have already applied for the Local Restrictions Support Grant scheme, they don't need to apply again but if they haven't done so, they should fill out the form as quickly as possible to not miss out.

Businesses that don't pay business rates or businesses not in retail, hospitality or leisure may be entitled to the Additional Restrictions Grant.

The application window is currently closed but will re-open again in due course.