Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Last updated: 8 April 2021 at 12.15pm

From Monday 12 April 2021, the country will enter the next step of the government's roadmap out of lockdown for England. People should continue to work from home where they can and minimise the number of journeys they make where possible, avoiding travel at the busiest times and routes. Travel abroad will continue to be prohibited, other than for a small number of permitted reasons.

From 12 April:

Non-essential retail, personal care premises such as hairdressers and nail salons, and public buildings can reopen. Outdoor hospitality venues can also reopen but customers must order, eat and drink while seating.
Indoor leisure facilities such as gyms can reopen for use by people on their own or in their household groups as well as other outdoor attractions including zoos, theme parks and drive-in cinemas. Self-contained accommodation such as campsites and holiday lets, where indoor facilities are not shared with other households, can also reopen.
Funerals can continue with up to 30 mourners but the number of people able to attend weddings, receptions and commemorative events such as wakes will increase to 15.

From 29 March:

you can meet outdoors either in a group of six (from any number of households), or in a group of any size from up to two households (each household can include existing support bubbles, if eligible).
you can take part in formally organised outdoor sports with any number of people (outdoor sports venues and facilities can reopen).
childcare and supervised activities are allowed outdoors for all children.
formally organised parent and child groups are able to take place outdoors for up to 15 attendees. Children under five will not be not counted in this number.

From 1 April, if you have been identified as clinically extremely vulnerable you are no longer be advised to shield. However, you should continue to take extra precautions to protect yourself. It is also important that you continue to keep the number of social interactions that you have low and try to limit the amount of time you spend in settings where you are unable to maintain social distancing. If you are in this group, you will previously have received a letter from the NHS or from your GP telling you this.

If you are in the clinically extremely vulnerable category and have no-one to help you, contact the Hampshire Coronavirus Helpline and Support on 0333 370 4000 and someone will be able to provide you with advice or refer your request for support to the local community hub. The helpline is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and between 10am and 3pm at weekends.

Roadmap out of lockdown

On Monday 22 February, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the government’s roadmap out of lockdown for England.

The plan will be implemented in four steps, with milestone points expected at Monday 8 March, Monday 29 March, Monday 12 April, Monday 17 May and Monday 21 June, depending on analysis of the scientific data. At each step, the restrictions will be lifted across the whole of England at the same time.

Please take a look at the video below which explains the government's roadmap:

Hands, face, space, air

To help control the virus and protect yourself and others, when you leave home you must:

wash hands - keep washing your hands regularly
cover face - wear a face covering over your nose and mouth in enclosed spaces
make space - stay at least a metre away from people not in your household

Meeting outside is the safest way to see others, but if you need to let a tradesperson or other visitor into your home, you should always open windows to let fresh air in.

If you are feeling unwell, get a test and do not leave home for at least 10 days.

Visit the government webpages for the latest guidance and information.

Coronavirus outbreak FAQs, what you can and can't do
NHS advice about coronavirus (COVID-19), including what to do if you think you have it and how to reduce your chances of getting it
Guidance on use of face coverings on public transport
Find coronavirus help and support

Community testing

Following the government’s announcement that free rapid tests will be offered to everyone in England from Friday 9 April, residents can collect two packs of seven lateral flow device test kits from a test site. There is no need to book an appointment.

Testing should be done twice a week. Step-by-step instructions are included with the test kit. A video demonstration and alternative language versions are available online. You can also call 119 and request a translation service.

To find out when and where you can collect a home testing kit visit Hampshire county council website.

Hampshire COVID-19 data

Keep up to date on how coronavirus is affecting Hampshire

Council updates

Council meetings

All committee, Cabinet and Council meetings are now held virtually and are live streamed on the council's website in the same way as they would normally be webcast to allow residents to watch the committee meetings live.

Find out more information on upcoming virtual council meetings.

Service updates

Find out the latest updates and further information on how our services have been affected by COVID-19.

Community hub

Working with Basingstoke Voluntary Action and others, we are helping coordinate community support during the pandemic.

Get information on the support available for communities, including the careline set up to support vulnerable residents.

Council tax support

Following the government’s announcement of a new Hardship Fund to help vulnerable residents pay their council tax, we received further guidance on the measures and implemented some changes.

Read the latest information on the changes to help vulnerable residents pay their council tax.

Business advice, support and guidance

The government has put in place a number of measures to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have a webpage with advice and support for businesses

Guidance in different languages

View the guidance in different languages for people having to self-isolate with COVID-19 (or suspected) on the GOV.UK website.

Guidance on social distancing measures is also available in different languages on the GOV.UK website.

Information on restrictions in place are now available in Slovak, Polish, Bangla (Bengali), Welsh, Urdu, Arabic, Hindi, Gujarati, Somali, Persian (Farsi) and Punjabi (Gurmukhi).

British Sign Language

Find out about coronavirus information in British Sign Language.

COVID-19 posters and information in 18 different languages

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has created a collection of COVID-19 information sheets in multiple languages to display in venues across the town.

These are available below and translated into the following languages: Polish, Punjabi, Urdu, Chinese, Guajarati. Russian, Nepalese, Malayalam, Bulgarian, French, Hindi, Romanian, Turkish, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil and Arabic.

COVID-19 poster in Arabic(PDF) [189 kb]