COVID 19 - Coronavirus
COVID-19 is an illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It's caused by a virus called Coronavirus.
Advice about the Coronavirus is being updated daily by Government. Anyone with concerns should read the available information on the Public Health Wales, Public Health England, Welsh Government, gov.uk, and NHS websites.
The situation continues to be very dynamic, but our advice remains to keep visiting the Public Health Wales website for the very latest information and stay at home guidance for people with confirmed or possible Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.
Coronavirus legislation and guidance on the law is available on gov.wales.
Any disruption to council services as a result of Coronavirus (COVID-19) will be updated here as necessary. Select the relevant section below for details of changes to services.
Bins and Recycling
Births, Deaths and Ceremonies
Business & Economy
Council Tax & Benefits
Customer Centres and Payments
Education and Learning
Employment and Skills
Housing
Leisure, Parks & Events
Libraries
Licensing and Trading Standards
Planning and Development
Roads, Travel & Parking
Social Care
Other Local Organisations
National Measures for Wales
New national measures came into effect in Wales on November 9.
Welsh Government have produced the following Coronavirus regulations: frequently asked questions which provide guidance on how you can keep safe during the outbreak and what rules are in place to protect people.
Self Isolation Payments
If you have been contacted by NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect service (TTP) and have been told to self-isolate, you may be entitled to financial support. Find out more about Self Isolation Payments here.
Data Dashboard
The council have created an interactive data dashboard to help demonstrate the prevalence of Covid-19 in the borough.
The dashboard is based on Public Health Wales daily data and shows the distribution of positive Covid-19 tests across our communities over a rolling 7-day period.
The data can be seen on a map and bar charts, with an animation function that show how this changes over a 10 day period.
Hovering over the map or bar charts will show further detail.
View the data dashboard here.
Torfaen Community Support
The Torfaen Community Support Hub is part of the council’s response to the Government’s Shielding Scheme and Test, Trace and Protect strategy in order to safeguard our most vulnerable residents.
With shielding paused from the 16th August 2020, the demand for support through our Community Support Hub due to the effects of Coronavirus has significantly reduced at this time. As a result of this we have reduced the capacity of the team who were the first point of contact for requests for help.
However, some staff continue to be available to provide guidance and help to individuals who need emergency support and will ensure that they are connected with services that are still operating across the borough.
Both volunteers and those that need support can apply to participate in the scheme by downloading our Community Support App and provide some basic information, which will be securely stored and managed.
Residents who sign up to the app for support will be able to make requests for:
- Collection of medication
- Shopping for food and other essentials
- Someone to chat with to help counter isolation and loneliness
Staff will be able to provide help to access support and assistance where possible and put people in touch with agencies who can help.
Find out more about Torfaen Community Support here.
Gwent Contact Tracing Service
To keep track of Coronavirus in Wales, on Monday 1 June, in response to the Welsh Government’s Test, Trace, Protect strategy, partners including Public Health Wales, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and the five Local Authorities in Gwent began working together to develop the Gwent Contact Tracing Service.
The new service enables partners to track and trace any new Coronavirus cases that emerge. Being able to pinpoint those who have come into contact with someone showing symptoms of Coronavirus can help reduce the spread of the virus.
Find out more about the Gwent Contact Tracing Service here.
Building Closures
Civic Centre, Ty Blaen and all public facing buildings are closed to the public.
The following building closures are also in place until further notice.
Grants
A number of grants are available to help with the impact of COVID-19. You can view a list of grants to help with the impact of COVID-19 here.
Coronavirus Symptom Tracker App
Help us fight Coronavirus by reporting your health daily, even if you feel well, on the Welsh Government Coronavirus symptom tracker app. The app is available to download from the Apple Store, Google Play Store and from the links at covid.joinzoe.com
Multi-agency arrangements
Torfaen Council is now working as part of the Gwent Local Resilience Forum (GLRF) as part of a wider Government, Welsh Government and NHS strategy in response to COVID-19. Find out more about the Multi-agency arrangements here.
Your support is vital
The Welsh Government has asked us all to Keep Wales Safe:
- always observe social distancing
- wash your hands regularly
- work from home if you can
- stay at home and get tested if you or anyone in your extended household has symptoms