Covid-19

Sheffield City Council has launched a Covid Recovery Fund, which opened on 10th January to provide support for the city’s voluntary and community sector with needs that have arisen from Covid. We asked organisations to complete an expression of interest in October and November 2021 to tell us what their needs were as a result of the pandemic.

Testing is a vital part in our fight against Covid-19 and your help is needed to reduce its spread. If you have any of the following Covid-19 symptoms, however mild, you must self-isolate and get a PCR test as soon as you can. These are a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, loss or change of sense of smell or taste. If you have tested positive from a lateral flow device (LFD), PCR tests are not needed.  Please self-isolate as normal.   

There are a number of clinics where you can get a vaccination against COVID-19 operating across Sheffield.

The council is facing a challenging financial position this coming year following the enormous demands placed on services during the Covid pandemic and wants to hear the public's thoughts on the budget proposals.

Last night the Government announced new measures in response to the rise in cases of the Omicron Covid variant. These measures, known as Plan B, mean that work from home guidance will be reintroduced in England, a Covid pass will be mandatory when entering nightclubs and other venues and face coverings will be mandatory for most indoor venues.

New Covid restrictions will be introduced from tomorrow in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant. 

We are aware of the news coverage raising concerns about Sheffield Covid test results which were handled by the Immensa lab in Wolverhampton and has since been linked to a considerable number of inaccurate test results in the South of England. Dr Eleanor Rutter, Consultant in Public Health for Sheffield City Council has said: “This is a national issue that has been well publicised but has only affected a very small proportion of Sheffield’s tests. “The number of people identified as potentially having been given a false negative result in Sheffield is incredibly small. There is nothing to suggest this has had a significant impact on infection rates in the city. “Tests from the city are sent to many different labs across the country, and this particular lab only received a small percentage of them.”

Last week’s Poverty Summit saw the council, businesses, city organisations including voluntary, community and faith organisations and stakeholders meet to discuss and plan for what the financial impact of Covid will be on the city and its residents.

Ahead of the new autumn term starting, we have been supporting schools to get ready to welcome pupils, students, and staff back into the classroom safely.

Greg Fell, Director of Public Health for Sheffield said: “It’s not over yet, Covid is still here so please keep yourself safe. It is still infecting people across the city and it doesn’t care who it infects. We’re living more normally than we have been at any point in the last 18 months and in an ordinary day, each of us meets around 5 times more people than we did during lockdown. As a result we have seen a significant rise in cases over the last few weeks.

As most restrictions on social contact are lifted today, Sheffield City Council’s Director of Public Health is urging people to take it steady and continue to look out for each other.

“We’ve lived with this pandemic now for over 18 months, following guidelines and showing huge resilience and determination to overcome Covid. Today we learnt that these restrictions will come to an end on 19 July...

The sold-out event will go ahead as part of phase 3 of the Government's Event Research Programme on the weekend of 23-25 July, at Hillsborough Park.

Cliffhanger is back on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th July, with all the action of the BMC British Bouldering championships across the weekend, and plenty more excitement for everyone to enjoy throughout the city centre.

Sheffield’s new Community Covid Bus launches this week as a one-stop place for all things Covid-related, including lateral flow tests for those without symptoms with results in 30 minutes.

It’s great that we can come together for the football and have something to celebrate but while you’re enjoying yourselves please make sure you stick to the guidelines and don’t trash the city!

The Government’s final stage of the roadmap out of lockdown planned for 21 June has been delayed until 19 July. All legal limits on social contact were due to be lifted in a week’s time, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that with the number of cases growing by 64 per cent per week and in some areas it is doubling, it’s better to be cautious and not move out of Step 4 until more people have had the Covid vaccine. He also talked about how the average number of people being admitted to hospital has increased by 50% per week on week and by 61 per cent in the North West with his main concern being that it’s possible that ‘the virus will outrun the vaccines and that thousands more deaths would ensue that could otherwise have been avoided.'

The Government’s roadmap out of lockdown moves onto a further stage on Monday 17 May as part of the country’s slow easing out of Covid restrictions. On Monday, we will see the opening of indoor hospitality including restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes. People will be able to meet indoors with up to 6 people or 2 households (each household can include a support bubble) and outdoor gatherings of up to 30 people are now allowed.

Contact tracing is a fundamental part of controlling the Covid-19 pandemic and in Sheffield we are one of the first councils in the UK to bring all Covid-19 contact tracing of positive cases in-house. We have recruited a team of tracers who work with residents who may have been exposed to the virus and we’ve seen a rapid rise in our track and trace success rate which now stands at 95% of all positive cases contact traced. The results of those who receive a positive diagnosis come straight to the council and we attempt to contact as many as possible of them within 7 hours.

Everyone in England is now eligible for free, rapid Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests to continue the fight against Covid. They should be taken twice weekly and are for people who do not have symptoms. 

Sheffield’s businesses reopened their doors this week in a welcome return to trading, with many people taking the opportunity to visit local shops, hairdressers, get back to the gym or outdoor sports and enjoy al fresco dining and drinks at their favourite restaurants and bars.

Our free community events, The Highland Fling and Weston May Fayre, will not go ahead this year in line with the Governments roadmap out of lockdown plans.

From Monday outdoor gatherings (including in private gardens) of either 6 people (the Rule of 6) or 2 households will be allowed, making it easier for friends and families to meet outside.

On 23rd March it will be a year since the announcement of the UK’s first Covid-19 lockdown and no-one imagined the dramatic impact this would have on our lives and the tragedy that the virus would bring. Next week we are marking its one-year anniversary by remembering those who we have lost, thanking people across the city for everything that they have done to protect others from the virus and showing our gratitude to those working in the NHS, the care sector and other frontline key worker roles who have shown true steel spirit.

We are pleased to launch a second round of the Community COVID-19 Response Fund.This short-term funding is designed to support the Voluntary and Community Sector in their work around preventing the spread of COVID-19, testing and outbreak management, supporting people to isolate and supporting Covid-19 vaccination uptake.

We need all visitors to our Household Waste Recycling Centres to respect staff and the guidelines in place, to prevent further delays and potential closures at sites.

Last night the Government laid out a four-step roadmap for how the country will slowly ease out of lockdown restrictions over coming months.

We want you to enjoy some exercise and fresh air this half term in our parks but please do so responsibly, sticking to the current Government rules and guidance.

We've been visiting shops and supermarkets across the city to make sure they are Covid-compliant and provide advice and support.

We're working with South Yorkshire Police and Fir Vale Community Hub to improve community issues in Page Hall. Last week we carried out a partnership day of action to address problems in the area.

Today marks a huge milestone for Sheffield and its older care home residents as all have now been offered the covid-19 vaccinated.  

A rapid Covid testing centre for essential staff who work with vulnerable people will open next month. The centre, based at the English Institute of Sport Sheffield (EISS), will initially be for Council staff, private providers and third sector staff who do not have symptoms.

Greg Fell, Director of Public Health for Sheffield has said today: “We are working to support the NHS led vaccination programme by contributing our knowledge and logistical assistance as a council. We’re here to help the NHS make this programme a success. Whilst we continue to provide this support, we must stress that the national lead for the rollout of the Covid vaccination programme is the NHS.

Sheffield City Council will provide thousands of additional laptops to support children who are currently having to home school, without the devices to do so.

The recent grant scheme to support eligible businesses in the supply chain to hospitality, accommodation, leisure, and entertainment sectors has been extended and grant amounts have been increased.

We’ve written to all care homes to support them in continuing to provide safe visiting opportunities during this third national lockdown. We know how important visits are for supporting the health and wellbeing of people living in care homes and their relationships with friends and family so we’ve provided them with an overview of how this should work in Sheffield.  

Sheffield’s Coronavirus Community Support Helpline has reached a major milestone after taking is 20,000th call since opening in March last year.

Take part in our online consultation about Sheffield's budget for 2021/22 by Tuesday 19 January. We have outlined our proposals and want to hear your views.

Bin collections will continue as normal during the six week lockdown period, and our 5 household waste recycling centres will remain open.

Statement from Public Health Sheffield on the new variant of Covid-19

Today’s government announcement has confirmed that Sheffield will remain in tier 3, the ‘very high alert’ category. Greg Fell, Director of Public Health for Sheffield, said ‘Our figures were going down, but sadly, this is no longer the case, therefore I believe it’s the right decision for us to remain in tier 3.

As 2020 - the year that none of us could have predicted - draws to a close, we’re all in need of some festive cheer, and although we can’t celebrate Christmas in the usual style th ...

Visitor numbers are very high in Sheffield's most popular parks which makes it difficult to adhere to social distancing. Try somewhere new with our fantastic hidden gems, to help us reduce covid-19 infection rate and keep people safe.

Proposals to overhaul cycling, walking and public transport infrastructure in Sheffield have launched today as plans for a city centre scheme are shared for public consultation.

The Government has announced today that Sheffield will come out of lockdown on 2 December and enter into the tier 3‘Very High’ alert category.

Businesses can access lots of advice and support as Sheffield moves to Tier 3 restrictions from next Wednesday 2 December.

A streamlined process has now been put in place for businesses to access the latest support grants for businesses who have been been affected by the second Coronavirus lockdown. Grants are available for both ratepaying and non-ratepaying businesses. 

The Sheffield Mobile Testing Unit currently based at Milton Street Car Park in Broomhall is relocating to Parkside Road Car Park in Hillsborough on Tuesday 17 November until Monday 7 December for a period of 3 weeks. 

Government have issued further clarification on which businesses can remain open during the new lockdown period, with restrictions in place until 2nd December.

Keep visiting Sheffield's parks and outdoor spaces during the national lockdown, but some facilities will not be available.

Businesses in Sheffield can now apply for a lockdown business support grant.

Sheffield Public Health Director, Greg Fell gives a statement on mass Covid testing.

England will enter a full lockdown on Thursday November 5 if approved by MPs on Wednesday. The measures will be introduced at 00:01 GMT on Thursday and remain in place until Wednesday 2 December.

Information officers employed by Sheffield City Council are carrying out visits to businesses in Crystal Peaks, Hillsborough and London Road to offer advice and guidance on operating safely under Covid-19 regulations.

The application for the Local Restriction Business Support Grant is now live. If your business was trading as usual but ...

Sheffield City Council has pledged to support thousands of children and young people with free school meals during the half-term week.

Sheffield, along with Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham will move into the ‘Very High’ alert category from 00:01am on Saturday 24 October.

New restrictions for Sheffield have been announced by the Government in a move to further prevent the spread of the virus across the city.

Local sports and community groups are celebrating the re-opening of the 3G pitch at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park after a six-month Covid closure.

A new kerb lined with planters and a fully accessible, step-free pavement have been installed on Pinstone Street as works to upgrade temporary social distancing measures are completed.

A third local testing centre will shortly be opening in the city. Based at Gower Street Car Park in Burngreave, the new unit will be open from Wednesday 30 September. 

To help control infection rate in Sheffield we are working with businesses across the city to make sure they are covid-secure and will be carrying out spot checks across a range of sectors.

The Sheffield Mobile Testing Centre currently based at Olympic Legacy Park is relocating to Milton Street Car Park in Broomhall. The site will be open at its new location on Tuesday 29 September. 

The NHS test and trace national booking system is reaching capacity. This is due to laboratory testing reaching national capacity on the day. If you have COVID-19 symptoms and you need to book a test, please continue to do so. However, you may experience a delay in being able to book a test using the national system. If you can’t get a test on the day, please try again later or try the next day. Please listen to the guidance you are provided at the point of arranging a booking. Testing remains a vital part in our fight against the spread of Covid-19 in our city and to help reduce the rate of people contracting the virus.

A statement has been made by our Director Public Health at Sheffield City Council, Greg Fell in relation to the news released from the Department of Health and Social Care that Sheffield is on the watchlist and as such has been designated as an ‘area of concern’. This news may have given rise to concern and we want to reassure the public of what this means for our city. 

Potential funding for voluntary, community and faith organisations who have helped others during the Covid-19 response.

A new Covid-19 local testing centre will be opening in Darnall next week, to make testing easier and more accessible in the city.

Don't be taken in by hoax messages about schools testing children for Coronavirus.

Why Ponds Forge International Sports Centre will not reopen yet.

*Updated 18 August 2020* More than 100 playgrounds are now open, and being cleaned and inspected on a regular basis. With the exception of Hillsborough Park, all remaining playgro ...