Staying safe

We are gathering latest information from official sources to help you all stay safe at home and at the Centre.

We aim to keep the Centre open for as long as we feel it is safe to do so.

We are all working hard to make the Centre a safe place to visit. Covid-19 remains a threat to us all, and we hope we can work together to keep everyone safe and your visit as comfortable as possible.

We ask all our visitors to observe the following:

Please do not visit our centre if you or anyone in your household is displaying symptoms of Covid-19.
Please bring a mask/face covering and wear it throughout your visit (if indoors).
Please bring any refreshments with you as our kitchen is closed.
Please register in advance of your visit as we are limiting the number of people in the building at any one time. We will need your name and mobile/phone number
Please be prepared to have your temperature taken on arrival by our stewards.
Please keep 2m from other people – using the measures taped on the floor – and wait to enter the building.
Please sanitise your hands before entering the building and during your visit, using the foot-controlled hand-sanitiser at the front door
Please avoid opening and closing doors with your hands – we will keep doors open.
When inside please avoid touching any surfaces. We will position chairs and tables at social distances, keep doors and windows open, and sanitise surfaces before and after each session.
Please use the toilets as infrequently as possible. You are asked to use the wipes supplied to clean all surfaces after use.
If paying the centre direct, please try to avoid cash – and if you use cash, please bring the correct money.
Please avoid talking in the hallways, they are a point of congestion within our building and we want to keep them clear.

We hope you will be reassured by the precautionary measures we are taking.

Thank you for working with us and enjoy your visit.

Last reviewed: November 23, 2020

Clarification about refreshments and masks.
We want all our customers to be comfortable AND safe. To this end we have the following Covid-19 safety measures.

Masks

Wearing a mask will help to stem the spread of Covid-19.
In protecting ourselves and others, we require everyone to wear a mask when indoors unless there is a ‘good reason’. Good reasons include physical or mental health conditions (e.g. asthma or panic attacks).
Where possible we would ask people with ‘good reason’ to be able to provide evidence (e.g. a lanyard or card) if requested.
Where this is an option, we have a supply of visors available on loan for the visit.
We will trial clear masks to aid communication with people who are hard of hearing.

Refreshments

Food and drink is a high risk area in the spread of Covid-19 and therefore we have decided to close our café and kitchen until we are confident that we can limit the risks.
We are allowing participants to bring their own drinks and food, and we request that they take packaging and waste food away.
We will supply hot water in an urn to people hiring rooms for all day events, but no coffee, tea, milk or cups will be provided.

We thank you all for working with us to keep us all safe.

November 2020

Message from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent

Sadly, online scammers are trying to use the current situation to prey on vulnerable people. We have spoken to the Gwent Police Cyber Security Team have highlighted the most common scams at the moment which include:

Online shopping: People have ordered protective face masks, hand sanitiser and other products that have never arrived. Carry out research on websites you don’t know before completing a purchase. If you decide to go ahead, use a credit card as most credit card providers insure online purchases.
Phishing emails and texts: Claiming to be from organisations such as World Health Organisation (WHO), HMRC, Netflix, Amazon, Local Health Boards and local councils. These emails/text messages could contain malicious links and attachments which could lead to fraudsters stealing personal information, email logins and passwords, and banking details. Don’t click on links and attachments in emails, carry out your own research and never respond with personal or financial details.
You can report phishing messages to Action Fraud: http://actionfraud.police.uk/report-phishing
Door-to-door testing kits: Suspicious callers are said to have been knocking on doors of elderly and vulnerable residents saying that they are health officials doing door-to-door testing. Do not answer the door to anyone you don’t know or anyone calling out of the blue. These tests are only available from the NHS.
False school meal messages: Some parents have received text messages and emails offering free meals which request bank details. These are not legitimate and you should not respond with any of your information.

Gwent Police is currently running a cyber-safety campaign online and there is a lot of helpful information being shared every day. I would urge you to follow them on social media (if you use those channels). You can find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gwentpolice and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gwentpolice

Finally, if any of you have found yourselves the victims of any kinds of cyber crime, please also contact Connect Gwent (the victims services hub), on 0300 123 21 33. Connect Gwent can provide a wide range of support, and you do not have to have reported the incident to the police to access their services.

Please stay safe!

Washing Hands

Gardening Tools

Security Alarm

Washing Hands

There is a lot of useful information in 'A Guide to Home Safety' booklet from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service. Please click on the image to access the booklet.

Shopping Safely

Our Elderberries have raised with us lots of frustrations with grocery shopping. And, with news of Morrisons launching a new ‘over the phone’ service for vulnerable and older people, we thought it would be a good time to see how well online and other shopping schemes are working in Caerphilly.

Government guidance is that people aged 70+ and people with poor immune systems should self-isolate and avoid the risk of going shopping and that everyone else should practice social distancing and go as infrequently as possible.

Many people have good neighbours, friends or family to help with grocery shopping. This is the best and safest option.

For vulnerable people and those aged 70+ who have no one to help, the council has a scheme for groceries and medicines - contact teamcaerphilly@caerphilly.gov.uk or phone 01443 811490 between 9am & 5pm Mon to Fri. Concerns have been raised about how you pay, social distancing, and safeguarding.

Whilst the government has promoted online shopping, most stores seem overwhelmed by demand. When we checked out their sites, most of these companies didn’t have a delivery slot for the next three weeks. We have been informed that Iceland put on standard delivery slots in the mornings around 10am which have been more accessible with zero contact delivery.

The virus is DANGEROUS! It can survive on packaging, on your clothes and skin. Please ensure that everyone shopping for you is social distancing and wear gloves when handling shopping. Please do wipe down your groceries with disinfectant on a clean surface and throw away any unnecessary packaging. Alternatively, you could leave items in the sunlight. Please wash your fruit and vegetables thoroughly and wash your hands.

Stay safe!

Stores Accessing site

Iceland Easy to register. Free delivery £35+

www.iceland.co.uk Standard slots put on in the mornings around 10am

Sainsbury Registration for 70+ / vulnerable through Nectar card

www.sainsbury.com

Tesco Easy to register with a Tesco Clubcard. Free delivery £40+

Tesco.com/groceries

ASDA Easy to register. Free delivery £40+; Click & Collect £25

Asda.com

Morrisons Waiting of around 25 minutes to access site,

Morrisons.com but standard food boxes can be purchased more easily