Three important messages for the bank holiday weekend

Released on April 9, 2020

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils have three very important messages for residents this bank holiday weekend:

1. There’s help if you need it – our support lines are open
2. Check the changes to waste collections between 10 and 17 April
3. Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.

Here’s all the details you need:

1. Support lines open over the bank holiday weekend

The councils’ dedicated support service for people who need urgent help because of the Coronavirus pandemic will remain open over the whole Easter weekend. 

You can call 01235 422600 or email communitysupport@southandvale.gov.uk from 9am-5pm on Good Friday, Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

Please don’t wait until the last minute to call us as it can take a day or two to get help out to you. This may take longer over the bank holiday weekend if supplies are difficult to get hold of.

Please remember, the first step if you need help is to check with your friends or family, or a trusted neighbour.  If they can’t help, then try   your local volunteer group and if you have no success with either then please don’t hesitate to call or email us

For more information on how you can find more help and support, please see our Coronavirus community support pages southoxon.gov.uk/covid19 or whitehorsedc.gov.uk/covid19

2. Waste collections

Although this isn’t a typical Easter for many of us, one thing that does remain the same is there will be changes to our waste collections over the Easter break.

Following bank holidays we empty bins on a different day to normal collections and this one’s no exception.  To find out more visit whitehorsedc.gov.uk/bankholiday or southoxon.gov.uk/bankholiday

If your bin is not emptied, please leave it out for up to three days and we will try and catch up with collections.

3. Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.

We know that the weather over the Easter period is expected to be nice but please resist the temptation to go out!  We can only reduce the impact of the virus if everyone follows the national guidelines and stays home.    

You should only leave the house for very limited purposes:

• shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible
• one form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle – alone or with members of your household
• any medical need, including to donate blood, avoid or escape risk of injury or harm, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person
• travelling for work purposes, but only where you cannot work from home

Our parks and open spaces are open for people to use for their daily exercise if they live locally, while observing social distancing guidelines, but they mustn’t be used for recreational activities like sports, picnics or sunbathing.

Remember – if everyone continues to follow the guidelines the sooner life will return back to normal!

Cllr Sue Cooper, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We would like to wish all our residents a happy Easter.  The circumstances may be very different and quite challenging this year.  But I hope that despite the temptations to enjoy the sunshine elsewhere, you will be able to stay at home, except possibly while you are exercising well away from others. 

“Above all, please continue to follow the national guidelines and stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.”

Cllr Emily Smith, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “Thank you to everyone across the Vale and South Oxfordshire who is volunteering to support their community, and to the key workers providing such a vital service at this time – we really do appreciate everything you are doing.  We all have a responsibility to help and I urge everyone to follow the national guidelines so we can continue to reduce the impact of the virus.”