Covid-19

Sheffield is creating unique, long-lasting, and creative memorials as a tribute to those who have died from Covid, those who have lost loved ones and those who have been affected by the pandemic. Our city, like those around the world, has been deeply affected by the impact of Covid-19, and in Sheffield we want to pay a meaningful tribute to those who have lost their lives, those who have worked above and beyond to keep people as safe as possible and those who have been affected by Covid.

All legal Covid restrictions in England have now ended and Government guidelines have changed around testing. Read the latest update on what you need to do from 1 April.

Sheffield City Council has recently awarded £1.35 million of grants through its Voluntary Community Sector Covid Recovery Fund. The fund used central government Covid funding to support voluntary sector organisations who had either reduced income or increased costs relating to Covid. The pandemic has once again demonstrated the critical role the sector plays in supporting people throughout the city and the funding will support organisations ongoing work amongst Sheffield’s communities.

A new grant is available to businesses in the travel sector to support them through recovery from the pandemic. Applications are open now. Check eligibility.

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.

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. 

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.