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Christmas bubbles with friends and family     Now is a good time to plan ahead if you’re considering forming a Christmas bubble with friends and family from 23 to 27 December. The Government has changed some of social contact restrictions for a short period of time over Christmas, allowing us to meet with up to three households indoors or out. However, we are being advised to reduce any unnecessary contact with people we do not live in the two weeks before we form our Christmas bubbles. When following these new rules, we must each continue to take personal responsibility to limit the spread of the virus and protect our loved ones, particularly if they’re vulnerable. View the Christmas bubble rules in full.     Ambassadors hit the high streets     Our new ‘Town Centre Ambassadors’ are getting ready to help out on our high streets as part of our work to keep our towns safe. The team of four will operate across the high streets of Sevenoaks, Swanley, Westerham and Edenbridge from 8 December 2020. They will be here to answer questions and provide useful advice to businesses and visitors about staying safe on our high streets. The Ambassadors are supported by Government funding up to 31 March 2021.       Vaccination news     In the past week, the UK medicines regulator approved the first UK COVID-19 vaccine. The ‘Covid-19: Pfizer/BioNTech’ vaccination programme began yesterday, 8 December, with health and care workers and the most vulnerable people receiving the jab first. As part of the COVID vaccination rollout, Public Health England (PHE) is providing publicity materials to reassure the public about the safety of the vaccine and to explain who will get the jab first and why. You can download and share the vaccination publicity materials on the PHE website. Find out more about the COVID vaccination rollout plan on the NHS website.       Coronavirus survey   Kent County Council is asking residents to complete an online feedback form to find out residents’ views on why some people are not complying with the coronavirus rules. The data they collect will help inform their communications and hopefully reduce the rate of infection. Take the survey     Latest local COVID-19 data   The latest data we have received from Public Health England is accurate up to 4 December. It tells us that positive cases have increased across all Kent districts bar one in the past week. If this trend continues it remains likely that Kent will stay in Tier 3 restrictions at the next review date of 16 December. In Sevenoaks District, the 7 day count of positive cases through laboratory testing was 157, up from the previous week’s count of 142 and at a rate of 130.0 per 100,000, up from last week’s rate of 117.6. The average rate for England is 148.9 cases per 100,000 population, down from 155.8 last week. This indicates that while rates in the district have risen slightly, rates in the country are continuing to decrease. In total, the data we are receiving tell us there are 231 active cases across our District, up very slightly from 226 last week.  The Health Protection Board tells us that over the last two weeks, most increases in the number of cases in Kent have been school aged children and adults of an age that could be their parents. In Sevenoaks, the cases relate to clusters in residential dwellings and care settings.  View the latest national COVID-19 data.     Concerns about Coronavirus compliance?   If you have concerns about people or businesses not following the COVID rules, drop us a line and we’ll see if we or one of our partners can help. Call us on 01732 227000 or email information@sevenoaks.gov.uk.     What do you think of this newsletter?   Drop us a line at communications@sevenoaks.gov.uk

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