Dr Faisel Baig, GP & Chairman fpr NHS North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group, has delivered the following message to members of the public.

“Dear North Lincolnshire residents,

 There have been approximately 30,000 deaths across the UK due to the unpredictable Coronavirus and these deaths will have had a huge impact on many families.  My deepest sympathies go out to all who have lost loved ones.

You will have been hearing that we are now possibly past the peak of the Coronavirus outbreak. The R number, the “effective reproduction number”, measures how a disease spreads through the population by telling us the average number of people who will contract the disease from one person. We need to ensure this R number remains below one and this means we will all need continue playing our part.

You will have heard that discussions are taking place around how and when the lockdown could be eased a little.  However the Government decides to move us forward, there are certain key principles that will need to be followed:

•   Maintaining Social Distancing – keeping at least 2 metres apart from non-household members
•   Rigorous Hygiene – regular, thorough handwashing, and sneezing and coughing into a tissue (or into the     elbow fold)
• A healthy diet and exercise regime, avoiding excess alcohol and smoking – immunity levels need to be effective and these measures will help
• Paying attention to our mental health – speak with loved ones about thoughts and feelings and if struggling to cope, seek help from local mental health services, online: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/ or your GP
• If you have any cough or fever Coronavirus symptoms or contact with a symptomatic person, please consult NHS 111 online and be prepared to self-isolate immediately, along with your household
• Seek medical help if you have any symptoms for which you would have ordinarily sought help – through NHS 111, your GP, A&E or 999.  We do not want you to avoid seeking medical help because you are wanting to respect the current pressures on the NHS. We are here for you.

There a huge range of additional measures that are being implemented nationally to help us combat Coronavirus, including increased testing for a wider range of people and further detail can be accessed through http://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.  You may also have heard about an NHS contact-tracing App that is being piloted across the Isle of Wight and it could really help us in our battle with tracing potentially infected members of the public.

You have all played an immense role in adhering to the lockdown. This has helped reduce the spread of Coronavirus, protected the NHS and has ultimately saved many lives – thank you.  

We do however need to remain just as cautious and vigilant to ensure the spread of the virus does not begin to escalate again.” 

Best wishes,

Dr Faisel Baig

GP & Chairman, NHS North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group