Latest COVID-19 updates
July 2022
Spring 2022
Care home residents, people aged 75 and over and those with a weakened immune system aged 12 and over will be invited to get a spring COVID-19 booster. The NHS will contact you and invite you to book your spring booster when it’s due.
1 April 2022
- The government will update their guidance on how people with COVID-19 should minimise contact with others
- Free universal symptomatic and asymptomatic testing will end (although some groups will still be eligible for free symptomatic testing, they have not yet announced which groups)
- The health and safety requirement for every employer to explicitly consider COVID-19 in their risk assessments will be removed.
24 March 2022
COVID provisions from statutory sick pay will be removed, meaning that anyone who is unable to work because of COVID will receive SSP from day four of their absence in line with the standard SSP rules.
24 February 2022
- You will no longer be required to legally self-isolate following a positive COVID test. Adults and children who test positive should still be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for at least five full days and then continue to follow testing guidance until they have received two negative test results on consecutive days.
- Fully vaccinated adults and those aged under 18 who are close contacts of someone who has tested positive will no longer be asked to test daily for seven days. Unvaccinated close contacts of someone who has tested positive will no longer need to legally self-isolate.
- Self-isolation support payments will no longer be available
- Routine contact tracing will come to an end
- The legal obligation for individuals to tell their employers when they are required to self-isolate will also end.
27 January 2022
You will not be required to wear a face covering, including in communal areas of schools, but the government suggests you continue to wear one in crowded and indoor spaces where you may come into contact with people you do not normally meet.
You’ll no longer need to show your NHS COVID Pass at venues and events by law.
19 January 2022
The Government has announced that the offer of free PPE to frontline health and social care staff in England has been extended for another year. The government is also developing an improved platform for the procurement of PPE that will be quicker and easier to use. Please click here to find out more.
17 January 2022
16 and 17 year olds can now book a booster dose online. Parents and guardians of people at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 between 12 to 15 years old, or those living with people at higher risk, will also be contacted to book a booster. Please click here to book your booster.
17 January 2022
Your PA can stop self-isolating at the start of day six if they get two negative LFT results on days five and six and do not have a temperature.
Tests must be at least 24 hours apart. If either test is positive, they must wait 24 hours before testing again.
11 January 2022
If you get a positive rapid lateral flow test result, most people will not need to take a PCR test to confirm the result. You must self-isolate immediately if you get a positive rapid lateral flow test result. Please click here to find out more.
11 January 2022
You can now use the gov.uk website to get a collect code to pick up rapid lateral flow tests from your local pharmacy. Please click here to find out more.
09 January 2022
From 4am on 09 January, if you qualify as fully vaccinated, you can take either a rapid lateral flow or PCR test within 2 days of arriving in England. If you have a positive result on the rapid lateral flow test, you must take a PCR test. Please click here to find out more.
06 January 2022
Walk-in vaccination sessions are taking place across West Sussex. You don’t need an appointment, and you can simply turn up to receive your vaccination. Please click here to find out more.