Coronavirus (COVID-19)

England is at Step Three of the roadmap out of lockdown. Restrictions are still in place.

From Monday 17 May there are some changes to what you can do as restriction further ease.

What you can do

Socialise safely

• You can meet up to 30 friends or family members outdoors – remember hand hygiene
• You can meet family and friends indoors following the rule of six people, or two households – when you let your visitors in, let fresh air in too
• It’s your choice if you keep a social distance from family and friends – practice safe hugging to protect those who are vulnerable
• Visitors can stay overnight in your home, following the rule of six, or one other household

Hospitality and entertainment

• Indoor hospitality is open for table service – check-in with the NHS app
• Indoor entertainment such as cinemas and children’s play areas are open
• Indoor adult group sports can take place – keep a distance, clean equipment
• Indoor and outdoor sporting, performance and conference events can take place

Life events

• Up to 30 people can attend weddings, receptions, wakes, bar mitzvahs and christenings
• There is no longer a limit for the number of people who can attend funerals

Traveling, overnight stays and travel abroad

• Travel safely and plan your journeys – sanitise hands and keep your distance where possible
• Domestic overnight stays at allowed in hotels, B&Bs and hostels
• Follow the Government’s traffic light system for international travel, and you must follow the rules when returning

Read the roadmap here

You must:

• keep a 2m social distancing in settings such as medical, adult social care, retail, hospitality and business
• continue to work from home wherever possible
• isolate and book a covid test if you develop any symptoms – even if you’ve had the vaccine. Symptoms are:

1. a new continuous cough
2. a temperature or
3. a loss of or change to your sense of taste or smell

Read the Government’s guidance here.

We regularly review updates from Government as they are published and work out what they mean for council services. We’ll publish information on these pages, or you can sign up for email updates to be the first to know.

Following Government instructions designed to help reduce the spread of coronavirus, the council has taken a number of steps to help ensure the wellbeing of customers, staff and the wider community.

This means some of the services you usually use may be closed, or will operate in a different way. We understand the changes to our services may be frustrating, but Government advice is clear: we all need to do what we can to stop coronavirus from spreading.

We are working hard to make sure the services you rely on are available wherever possible. We are putting additional measures in place to make sure that people who are more likely to be affected by the social distancing measures get the support they need.

Working together in the pandemic

We’ve reduced how many council staff are out and about during the pandemic but some people still need to work around the city. We only send out staff when we need to. We’re careful to follow the latest national coronavirus restrictions and our staff all follow safety rules. We’re committed to making sure that everyone who works for the council treats all of our residents and customers politely and with respect. In return we ask everyone to respect our staff while they are doing their jobs in these challenging times.

If you need to contact us, our phone lines and customer service emails are available and we are keeping the website updated with information about affected services, and alternatives wherever we have them.

We recognise calling a helpline is not easy for people who have difficulty using the telephone, for example some people with autism, or those with a disability, such as hearing loss. As a result we have created a text message option.

Simply text your name and a brief description of the support you need and whether you would like us to respond with a phone call or email – if you choose email make sure you tell us your email address.

The number to text is 07860 027785, this number is monitored 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Please only use this number if you have difficulties making phone calls so we can use the service to support those who really need it.

• Sharing of information for the COVID-19 extremely vulnerable persons’ service
• Public health COVID-19 testing data privacy notice
• COVID-19 test and trace data privacy notice
• Portsmouth City Council – coronavirus risk assessment