Dear Friends and specifically faith leaders of places of worship.

In these challenging times it’s to you that people of faith (and some of no faith) are looking towards for inspiration and meaning and from all we hear you are responding magnificently.

We are fully aware of your current workload so don’t wish to add unnecessary but it’s very important that we know, and our society appreciates the values we uphold and how we respond to a crisis.

So with this in mind, we are reaching out to everyone to get an understanding of what is happening on the ground and respectfully urge you to please complete the short information request and respond here . The information being collected is going to be held by barnettogether.org.uk and will not be made public.
Thank You

Friends, Below is the context and reason for this request

Barnet Multi Faith Forum (BMFF) are working under the umbrella of Barnet Together,  https://barnettogether.org.uk/   to coordinate a response to the current crisis.

Together we are liaising directly with the Local Authority, Public Health bodies in putting in place a Boroughwide response by establishing a Community Task Force.

We have already held very positive meetings and through our own BMFF website we hope all information will be uploaded.

Please see links below to the local response, (volunteer support information will follow).

Part of the remit will be to provide some cohesion to map the local response.  This will enable us, centrally to signpost and to assist groups to continue to deliver services to our vulnerable residents during the Covid-19 outbreak

As this progresses, we will be dealing with more and more vulnerable families/residents, so it makes sense to plan ahead.

These plans are inevitably going to evolve over time, but we wanted to start by reinforcing efforts around food provision and trying to help find solutions for issues you may be experiencing or are expecting.

People will need support and faith organisations will play a huge part for so many of our residents.

We have also launched a Borough-wide Fundraising initiative through Young Barnet Foundation’s online portal, funds will be distributed by a steering group to groups on the ground, so it is important that we have your detailed information.  Community Response Fund  *- please share far and wide.

Hopefully, by working together, we can ensure that Barnet’s most vulnerable residents are cared for in this unprecedented situation.

Please let me know if there is further action, we can help co-ordinate in the short term and please take a moment to respond to the information request for

Thank you and we will keep you updated as to the Barnet Together response in due course.

USEFUL LINKS

Barnet Borough COVID-19

IFN website

NHS COVID-19 

BMFF COVID-19 updates

Stay well safe and secure
Barnet Multi Faith Forum Co-chairs
Esmond Rosen & Trevor Alexander.

Wuhan novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) briefing no. 2 for public and staff, 31.1.2020

Public Health Team, Barnet Council

Update on coronavirus outbreak

Two people from the same family have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK by this morning. They are being treated at a NHS facility. The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, and UK Chief Medical Officers have raised the risk to the UK public from low to moderate. This permits the government to plan for all eventualities.

At Barnet Council, we would like to reassure our residents and staff that we are working closely with Public Health England (PHE) to monitor the outbreak of Wuhan novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) globally and locally and will keep updating you accordingly.

We strongly advise to seek information only from reliable sources. The situation is changing fast and further guidance is being prepared. You can access updated information from following sources:

• DHSC is updating information on daily basis at 2pm until further notice here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public
• PHE has published a Q&A blog: https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/01/23/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know/
• The Foreign Office’s advice on travel to and from China is available here: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china

Advice for all residents

Since there is currently no vaccine to prevent infection, the best way to do so is to avoid exposure to this virus.

At Barnet Public Health, we would recommend following usual winter season preventative measures, as they reduce the spread of other respiratory viruses as well:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer;
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands;
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick;
• Stay at home when you are sick;
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then bin the tissue. If tissue is not available, cough and sneeze in your elbow.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects such as keyboard.

For any queries and further information, contact: PublicHealth@barnet.gov.uk