Wokingham Borough Council has launched a new Covid-19 Dashboard available on the Berkshire Public Health website, which will enable residents to quickly obtain the latest statistics on Covid-19 and access comprehensive guidance on the national restrictions. The dashboard is the first of its kind in the UK, providing real-time data on Covid-19 across Berkshire, and making it easily accessible to the county’s population of nearly one million residents.

Using the dashboard’s interactive map, residents can search for results in their local area and compare them with statistics for the rest of the county, the South East region and England as a whole. The ‘My Local Area’ section of the website is where users can put in their full postcode and receive information on the current rules and regulations to follow under this national lockdown. 

One-stop-shop for relevant statistics

Cllr Charles Margetts, executive member for health, wellbeing and adult services said: “We know that there is a real concern about rising infection rates across the Borough, and we are working hard to communicate the latest updates in the most impactful way through our ‘In It Together’ campaign. The new Covid-19 Dashboard supports these efforts, as it provides a fantastic one-stop-shop for relevant statistics and makes it much easier for local people to search for important data in their area. Alongside this, there is a helpful information centre providing detail on the current rules and regulations, as well as advice for anyone who is self-isolating.” 

The site provides users with specific data on Covid-19 for each of Berkshire’s six local authority areas, including:

•       Daily new case numbers and total cases

•       Weekly cases per 100,000 population and tracked against the South East and England

•       Daily number of cases in graph format since the start of the pandemic in March

•       Daily new cases for England and total cases for England since records began

•       Weekly death rate and location (care home, at home, hospital, etc.) 

•       Data for 111 and 999 calls triaged for people with suspected Covid-19 symptoms plus the number of daily online assessments

Together, we can break the Covid chain

Tessa Lindfield, Strategic Director of Public Health for Berkshire, added: “This innovative website is a go-to resource for all the latest lockdown information. It also allows our communities to see what’s really happening in their area – how many positive cases there are each day or week, how many deaths and where these are sadly happening.

“We urge residents to visit www.berkshirepublichealth.co.uk to read the government guidance on what they can and cannot do. Remember the importance of hands, face, space, observe social distancing and be sure that if you do have to go out, you’re not bringing Covid-19 back into your home. 

“We want to keep our communities safe and well. Together, we can break the Covid chain by following the guidance and by isolating when required. We believe this new website will help us all to stick to the rules.”

The re3 recycling centres on Longshot Lane, Bracknell and Island Road, Reading will continue to be open during the second national lockdown starting on 5^th November with continued safety measures and a booking system in place. 

Residents should continue booking using the “Click and Tip” service and only visit the recycling centre if they are no longer able to store their waste at home. Kerbside waste collections and glass banks will remain operational. If possible, residents are asked to prioritise these services over a visit to the recycling centres during the lockdown period. To make a journey to the recycling centres as safe as possible, residents are asked to strictly follow social distancing guidelines and only arrive if they have a valid booking. In line with Public Health England guidance, residents who are showing symptoms such as high temperature, continuous cough or loss of smell or taste, or have tested positive for Coronavirus must cancel their booking and not visit the recycling centres. 

Bookings via the “Click & Tip” service are available for slots from 8am – 6pm, Monday to Sunday, and residents can book up to 7 days in advance. The “Click & Tip” service will remain in place until at least the end of March 2021. From next week residents will notice a new look booking system with a clearer display and more flexibility. Residents will be able to reschedule or cancel their appointment up to 3 hours prior to their visit and make a booking up to 1 hour before the slot subject to availability. This improvement will help to release some spare capacity, enabling more people to visit the sites. In addition, residents who are planning to use a commercial type vehicle on their visit will benefit from the integrated form within the same booking process.To ensure that social distancing guidelines are adhered, the following safety measures are still in place:

• Limiting the number of vehicles allowed at the site at any one time.
• All visitors are required to keep the appropriate distance from each other, at least 2m apart.
• To minimise unnecessary contact with staff, residents should display their proof of address through closed windows and use contactless payments for transactions if possible.
• Meet & Greet staff are required to wear a face covering all the time.
• No assistance for unloading can be provided by site staff who will be available to direct the public and manage residents parking.  
• Site is sanitised frequently, and hand sanitising facilities are available to residents.

Things to remember when visiting the re3 sites at Longshot Lane and Smallmead:

• You must make a booking before you visit the site. If you do not have a booking you will be refused entry.
• Please bring proof of address that shows you are a resident of Bracknell Forest, Reading or Wokingham such as a driving licence, a council tax bill or a utility bill (issued no longer than four months prior to visit) and place it on your dashboard for staff to see.
• We accept all usual items, including chargeable waste, so plan your visit when loading your car as it will help minimise the amount of time on site.  

Cllr Mrs Dorothy Hayes MBE, Bracknell Forest Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Chairman of the re3 Joint Waste Disposal Board commented:“We are closely monitoring the Government advice and strongly believe that with everyone’s efforts recycling centres can remain safely opened during this difficult period. Safety measures that have been put in place since May have proven to be effective and the Click & Tip booking service has been a very successful approach to help us manage the demand for our busy sites in Bracknell and Reading. We are very grateful to all residents for their ongoing compliance and joint effort in following the guidelines to suppress the spread of this deadly virus.” 

Cllr Adele Barnett-Ward, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Neighbourhoods & Communities, said:“The wellbeing of our residents and staff is our priority and we have been working hard to ensure that our facilities are as safe as possible throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We are aware of how important the access to the recycling centres to many residents is, and we are determined to do everything we can to safely deliver this crucial service despite the new lockdown. Since the introduction of Click & Tip we have had many positive comments and feedback from visitors to the sites, with residents praising the organisation, lack of queues, ease of booking and feeling safe. I am delighted that we are building on this success by improving the booking system to allow residents to cancel or reschedule bookings as well as making last-minute bookings when availability allows.I know this increased flexibility will be welcomed by residents.” 

Cllr Parry Batth, Wokingham Borough Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Leisure, added:“We want to continue to offer our services and as always ask everyone to follow staff advice. With Covid-safe measures, the capacity has inevitably been reduced, however we are successfully offering over 10,000 bookings per week across both sites, allowing us to balance demand with offering a great service to our residents whilst at the same time adhering to social distancing rules. We expect some difficult months ahead and as we do appreciate that using the Click & Tip service is an extra step people need to take to visit Recycling Centres and we would like to thank Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham residents for their understanding, compliance and simply for being kind during these difficult times.” 

Residents wishing to visit re3 Recycling Centres can book a slot via re3 website.