Guidance and advice on COVID-19

Guidance for employees, employers and businesses in providing advice about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

Last updated on 18 March 2022.

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Please note all COVID-19 grants are now closed for new applications.

Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant

The Government have announced a new one-off grant of up to £6,000 per premises to support eligible businesses within the hospitality and leisure sectors, in recognition of the potential trading challenges brought about by the Omicron variant.

Businesses that are eligible for this grant can be found below:

Support type Types of businesses
Hospitality Food courts Roadside restaurants
Public houses/pub restaurants Wine bars
Restaurants Cafés
Leisure Casinos and gambling clubs Arenas
Cinemas Concert halls
Museums and art galleries Tourist attractions
Stately homes & historic houses Theme parks
Theatres Amusement arcades
Zoos & safari parks Soft play centres or areas
Amusement parks Indoor riding centres
Wedding venues Clubs & institutions
Events venues Village halls & scout huts,
Night clubs & discotheques cadet huts, etc.
Accommodation Caravan parks Holiday apartments,
Caravan sites and pitches Cottages or bungalows
Chalet parks Campsites
Coaching inns Boarding houses
Country house hotels Canal boats or other
Guest houses vessels
Hostels B&Bs
Hotels Catered holiday homes
Lodge Holiday homes

The amount businesses will receive is dependent on rateable value, changes to the ratings list after 30 December 2021 will not count towards the grant eligibility:

  • Rateable Value of £15,000 or under = £2,667
  • Rateable Value of between £15,000 and £51,000 = £4,000
  • Rateable Value of over £51,000 = £6,000

The scheme will close for applications on Friday 18 March 2022 with all payments being made by Thursday 31 March 2022.

Please note, due to the high volume of applications any questions should be emailed to covidgrantsupport@northlincs.gov.uk.

For full guidance on this grant, please visit the Government website to check you are eligible:

North Lincolnshire Discretionary Grant

North Lincolnshire Council has been awarded further Discretionary Funding to allow us to reopen the scheme. This will be for businesses who are outside the business rates system who can demonstrate a severe impact from Covid-19.

The amount businesses will receive is dependent on eligibility:

  • £979.50 - Businesses who are severely impacted who do not pay/are liable for business rates
  • £1,401 - Businesses who are severely impacted whose rateable value is £15,000 or below
  • £2,100 - Businesses who are severely impacted whose rateable value is between £15,001 and below £51,000
  • £3,150 - Businesses who are severely impacted whose rateable value is over £51,000

The scheme will close for applications on Friday 18 March 2022 with all payments being made by Thursday 31 March 2022.

Please note, due to the high volume of applications any questions should be emailed to covidgrantsupport@northlincs.gov.uk.

Removing the last domestic restrictions

The Government will remove remaining domestic restrictions in England, subject to appropriate parliamentary scrutiny.

From 24 February, the Government will:

  • Remove the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test. Adults and children who test positive will continue to be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people. After 5 days, they may choose to take a Lateral Flow Device (LFD) followed by another the next day - if both are negative, and they do not have a temperature, they can safely return to their normal routine. Those who test positive should avoid contact with anyone in an at risk group, including if they live in the same household. There will be specific guidance for staff in particularly vulnerable services, such as adult social care, healthcare, and prisons and places of detention.
  • No longer ask fully vaccinated close contacts and those under the age of 18 to test daily for 7 days, and remove the legal requirement for close contacts who are not fully vaccinated to self-isolate. Guidance will set out the precautions that those who live in the same household as someone who has COVID-19, or who have stayed overnight in the same household, are advised to take to reduce risk to other people. Other contacts of people with COVID-19 will be advised to take extra care in following general guidance for the public on safer behaviours.
  • End self-isolation support payments and national funding for practical support. The medicine delivery service will no longer be available. People who were instructed to self-isolate before this date will still be able to claim support payments within the next 42 days.
  • Revoke The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 3) Regulations. Local authorities will continue to manage local outbreaks of COVID-19 in high risk settings as they do with other infectious diseases.

From 24 March, the COVID-19 provisions within Statutory Sick Pay and Employment and Support Allowance regulations will end. People with COVID-19 may still be eligible, subject to the normal conditions of entitlement.

From 1 April, the Government will update guidance setting out the ongoing steps that people with COVID-19 should take to minimise contact with other people. This will align with the changes to testing set out later in this chapter.

Getting Vaccinated & Booster Dose

The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines are safe and effective. They give you the best protection against COVID-19.

Find out more about the COVID-19 Vaccine and how to book here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine/

A booster dose of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine helps improve the protection you have from your first 2 doses of the vaccine.

It helps give you longer-term protection against getting seriously ill from COVID-19.

Find out more about how and when to get your COVID-19 booster dose here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-booster-vaccine/

Get tested for coronavirus (COVID-19)

There are different tests you can get to check if you have coronavirus (COVID-19). The test you need depends on why you're getting tested.

The 2 main tests are:

  • PCR tests – mainly for people with symptoms, they're sent to a lab to be checked
  • rapid lateral flow tests – only for people who do not have symptoms, they give a quick result using a device similar to a pregnancy test

Both tests are free.

For more information regarding what testing involves, understand your test result, and how to report your result, click here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/

Staying Safe

There are still cases of COVID-19 in England and there is a risk you could catch or pass on the virus, even once you are fully vaccinated. This means it is important that you understand and consider the risks of catching or spreading COVID-19 in all situations.

While no situation is risk free, there are easy and effective actions you can take to protect yourself and others around you.

For more information on what you can do to protect yourself and others, click here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do

Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)

Find out how to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in your workplace. These guides cover a range of different types of work. You may need to use more than one of these guides as you think through what you need to do to keep people safe.

Click here for these guidelines: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-covid-19

Work and Support

Guidance on finding work, claiming benefits, managing debts and pensions if you’re being made redundant, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/redundancy-help-finding-work-and-claiming-benefits

Guidance for people who are employed and cannot work due to coronavirus (COVID-19), can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-what-to-do-if-youre-employed-and-cannot-work

Guidance for people who are self-employed and getting less work or no work because of coronavirus (COVID-19),  can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-what-to-do-if-youre-self-employed-and-getting-less-work-or-no-work

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