It's the end of a long week. I’m writing to you with my latest
update on the response to the Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic in
Harrow. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌


[COVID Update]

Dear
John,

Below is my latest update on the response to the Coronavirus or
COVID-19 pandemic locally. 

As of Friday, 523 people have been hospitalised with Covid-19 at
Northwick Park Hospital (and sister trusts) and have been discharged
since March 4th. Tragically, 364 people have passed away in the
hospital. 250 people are still being treated. These figures are a
powerful reminder of the need to stick with the social distancing
rules and stay at home. My thoughts continue to be with the loved ones
of those who have sadly died, and with those who have contracted the
virus. I can only begin to imagine the sense of loss the families must
feel.  As a community, we are immensely grateful to all of our NHS
staff, social care workers and all of our key workers, who are working
tirelessly to help us deal with this crisis. I hope readers continue
to stay safe, stay indoors and regularly check in on loved ones.

I continue to update my website
[[link removed]] – covering where to
find support, keep safe and assist local people in Harrow. If you have
anything you would like to me to feature in this update please send me
an e-mail with the subject “Covid-19 newsletter” and be sure to
share this message with friends, family, neighbours and local
businesses in order to strengthen our collective response to COVID-19.
The response to Coronavirus is being directed by Government centrally
working with Public Health England, the Government’s advice
is available here
[[link removed]]
. Government assistance specifically for businesses is available
here [[link removed]] . 

As always, if you ever need to get in touch about the issues covered
here – or anything else – please contact my office on 0207 219
4243 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Please bear
with us, as we have received over 5 times our usual weekly amount of
correspondence. My team and I are working hard to respond as promptly
as possible. Although we have had to cancel face to face surgery
appointments, we are now scheduling regular Zoom surgeries and phone
calls with Harrow West constituents. 

UNDERSTANDING THE HARROW PICTURE WEBINAR:

For those able to tune in this Friday morning, if you are currently
working to help and support the local community in Harrow, either with
young people, families or adults, you are invited to join this joint
webinar. Speakers from the NHS, Parliament and Harrow Council will be
joining to get a picture of what is happening on the ground across
Harrow:

FRIDAY 24TH OF APRIL 2020 FROM 10AM TO 11:30AM

BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE
[[link removed]]

Part one will focus on Health Services:

- Dr Rachel Tennant (Consultant in Respiratory & Acute
Medicine/Clinical Director for Acute Medicine at Northwick Park
Hospital) will speak on how the hospital has reorganised services to
cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.

- Dr Genevieve Small (GP and Chair of NHS Harrow Clinical
Commissioning Group) will speak on health services outside of the
hospital are supporting the Covid-19 response.

Part two will focus on National and Local Government responses, with
myself and a Harrow Council representative, who will helping us to
understand the local picture, plans and priorities.

PARLIAMENT

[hoc]

When I was sworn back into Parliament in December, I would never have
imagined the House of Commons, with its antiquated and arcade rituals
and customs moving into the 21st Century. But decades are taking
place in weeks and, this week, as Parliament returns from recess, a
technological transformation is finally underway. My parliamentary
colleagues and I are set to be able to quiz ministers via Zoom for the
first time in the House of Commons 700-year history.

Following agreement of the new measures, from Wednesday, 22 April,
some MPs will be able to take part in Prime Minister’s Questions,
any urgent questions and statements via video link for the first two
hours of each sitting day. A number of screens will be placed around
the chamber to allow the Speaker and MPs present in the chamber to be
able to see their ‘virtual’ colleagues.

Due to the magnitude of casework my office has picked up in recent
weeks, there are a number of pressing matters I know to urgently raise
with Ministers. If there are any specific questions you would like for
me to raise, please get in contact. 

VCS FEEDING HARROW

[Feeding Harrow]

The collaborative ‘Feeding Harrow’ operation – between Harrow
Council, the Voluntary Community Sector (VCS), Harrow Community
Transport (HCT), The Bridge, My Yard, The Breaking Bread Trust, Harrow
School and others continues to operate effectively. 

4000 food deliveries have taken place across Harrow, VCS has now setup
an online system combining food requests with available stocks at hubs
and delivery allocation - www.helpharrow.org
[/www.helpharrow.org] will take direct food requests from residents.
All of the Harrow Council and central government shielded list has
already been referred for delivery. 

If you can donate any food - KIND CAFÉ @ THE BRIDGE, WEALDSTONE,
HARROW HA3 5AB

FINDING SUPPORT

Do you have a medical condition that makes you vulnerable? Please
register.

A reminder, if you think you fall into a category that makes you
vulnerable to coronavirus – register with the Government here
[[link removed]]. For example,
you’ll be able to ask for help getting deliveries of essential
supplies like food. The council has just started to receive this
information and is working with local organisations to provide support
to those who apply.

If you’re not sure whether your medical condition makes you
extremely vulnerable, register anyway. This service is free. You can
register yourself, or on behalf of someone else.
[[link removed]]

HARROW TALKING THERAPIES -

[mental health check-in]

The coronavirus crisis is unlike anything many of us will have
encountered before and will, at some point, take its toll on our own
mental well-being and the well-being of those closest to us. For
anyone who is struggling with their mental health at this current time
- Harrow Talking Therapies is a FREE NHS service offering support to
those who are finding the current situation difficult. They offer 1:1
support via telephone or Video call. They offer bereavement support,
anxiety and worry management support, low mood support and also help
if you are self-isolating, or feel isolated being on your own at this
time amongst other support you might be needing at this time. 

Please get in touch by calling 0208 515 5015 (lines are open
Monday-Friday 9am-5pm) or emailing  [email protected]. You will be
assessed very quickly and booked in for treatment quickly too.

CORONAVIRUS SCAMS - The Government are advising the public to be extra
vigilant and be wary of scams related to Covid-19, please read the
Government's guidance here -
[link removed]
[[link removed]]

A COVID-19 COMMUNITY SUPPORT GROUP has been set-up, coordinating
action within WhatsApp groups for every ward in Harrow in order to
provide support to local residents – you are welcome to  join the
Facebook group here
[[link removed]] 
[[link removed]]and
if you are not a Facebook member but would like to join your ward’s
WhatsApp group – e-mail [email protected] with your postcode
and the coordinators will add you to the correct group.

ST MARY’S CHURCH - If you are in need of support or company – a
visit (where possible), a telephone call, help with shopping etc. St.
Mary’s would like you to get in contact. You can do this in a
variety of ways via the Church Office. The Office is open on Tuesdays
and Thursdays 9am – 2pm but the messages will be checked daily.

Email: [email protected], Tel: 020 8423 4014 (answerphone:
leave your contact details)

HARROW CENTRAL MOSQUE – Harrow Mosque is providing a free food and
essentials transport service to elderly and vulnerable people in
Harrow who require assistance with medical collection or other
essentials – Call or SMS: 07874869484 E-mail:
[email protected]

CAN YOU PROVIDE SUPPORT?

VOLUNTARY ACTION HARROW, YOUNG HARROW FOUNDATION and HARROW
COMMUNITY ACTION continue to work with Harrow Council to help
coordinate a Harrow wide response to the Coronavirus outbreak and a
database is being compiled of people who are willing to volunteer.
Voluntary Action Harrow are using this database to inform people of
organisations looking for volunteers. Please sign up here: 
[link removed]
[[link removed]]

SPARE ROOM?

My office have been able to match key workers with free rooms for
those with family or housemates self-isolating. If you are able to
temporarily offer a spare room to a key worker currently unable to be
at home due to a family member or a housemate self-isolating, please
get in touch with my office by e-mailing
[email protected] with subject “spare room”.

TRINITY BAR

[GT in Trinity]

Harrow's brilliant late licensed music venue and bar is under threat -
please join me and many others in donating to help Trinity survive the
Covid-19 crisis, so that we can return for a classic quiz night once
this is all over
- [link removed]
[[link removed]]

HARROW COUNCIL

[HC Coronavirus response]

The council has a webpage covering their own response, this is
regularly being updated and IS AVAILABLE HERE
[[link removed]] .

FINDING EMPLOYMENT

The council have a new webpage featuring a number of job and voluntary
opportunities here. [[link removed]]From delivery
drivers, on-line assistants, stock room and sales assistants to
cleaners, there are a number of supermarkets in Harrow and the
surrounding areas (Ruislip, Watford, Uxbridge) recruiting extra
temporary part/full time staff to start immediately.

CORONAVIRUS HOTLINE

The council have set up a hotline telephone number to support the most
vulnerable people in Harrow, if you are in need of support due to the
COVID-19 crisis please give the hotline a call - 0208 901 2698

TFL

Twenty London bus drivers have tragically lost their lives to Covid-19
over the past month. On Friday, I joined the Mayor and many across
London in honouring their lives with a minute of silence. 

From Monday, buses in London will temporarily become middle door only
boarding. TFL are confident that the low number of people currently
using the network can keep a safe distance when entering and exiting
through the same door. A reminder that travel on public transport is
only for critical workers making absolutely essential journeys. This
has seen the number of people on buses plummet by around 85 per cent.
Please note that during the period of these temporary arrangements
where passengers enter through the middle-doors, they will not be
required to touch in. Customers should not approach the card reader
near the driver’s cab. 

The new operation of buses builds on the enhanced social distancing
measures already introduced including signage asking passengers not to
sit in the seats near the driver’s cab, improvements to the
protective screen that shields drivers, and regular announcements to
reinforce the need to keep a safe space from others. TFL are also
exploring what more can be done to create a completely sealed
partition between drivers and passengers which allows for both
communication and ventilation. A rigorous cleaning regime is now in
place to kill the virus across services using new, anti-viral fluid in
stations, depots, bus garages, trains and on buses, including the
driver’s cab.

HELP FROM ME 

I appreciate that whilst this outbreak of Covid-19 is currently
dominating a lot of our thoughts, other concerns and problems do not
disappear. However, to help reduce the spread of infection, I am
asking members of the public who need to contact my office to do so by
phone or email rather than in person and further, I will continue to
hold surgery appointments exclusively by telephone and Zoom video
conferencing. This is a temporary measure and a sensible precaution to
protect vulnerable people. Please be assured we continue to offer a
full service of advice and support to members of the public who need
it.

As always, my office can be contacted
on [email protected] or by telephone on 0207 219 4243
(Monday-Friday).

STAY AT HOME AND SAVE LIVES.

Best wishes,

GARETH

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