Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance and support

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways.

Stay alert

We can all help control the virus if we all stay alert. This means you must:

• stay at home as much as possible
• work from home if you can
• limit contact with other people
• keep your distance from people not in your household (2 metres apart where possible)
• wash your hands regularly

Do not leave home if you or anyone in your household has symptoms.

The UK has now approved three COVID vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, and Oxford/AstraZeneca) and is rolling them out to combat the virus, prioritising the most at-risk groups. It's incredibly important that, when you are offered the vaccine, you take it.

Local residents are being vaccinated at Folca and the Civic Centre in Folkestone, at the Oaklands Health Centre in Hythe, and at Lydd Airport and New Romney Old School in Romney Marsh. Everyone over 50 can now book their appointment here

If you have symptoms, do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

• a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
• loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

Use the 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do.

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, regardless of age, is now eligible for testing. You can either go to a testing site, or get a test delivered to your home.

If you have any questions, you can contact the Coronavirus Testing Call Centre on 0300 303 2713 for assistance (open 8am to 8pm).

Follow the link below to apply for a test:

If you are an essential worker, or live with an essential worker, and have coronavirus symptoms, you should apply for a test via the GOV.UK portal.

If you have any questions, you can contact the Coronavirus Testing Call Centre on 0300 303 2713 for assistance (open 8am to 8pm).

Follow the link below to apply for a test:

If you are symptom free, in Kent you can get a test and help reduce the spread of the virus locally. Two centres in Folkestone & Hythe are offering these tests:

• The Folkestone Library at 2 Grace Hill, Folkestone CT20 1HD
• The Hawkinge Community Centre at Heron Forstal Avenue, Hawkinge, Folkestone CT18 7FP

Follow the link below to read more and apply to get tested.

The Government, in consultation with industry, has produced guidance to help ensure workplaces are as safe as possible.

These 14 guides cover a range of different types of work. Many businesses operate more than one type of workplace, such as an office, factory and fleet of vehicles. You may need to use more than one of these guides as you think through what you need to do to keep people safe.

The guidance below lists businesses that can re-open, and those that must remain closed.

The Chancellor has set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19. You may be eligible for loans, tax relief and cash grants.

Use the Government's business support finder to see what support is available for you and your business.

You can claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total.

The Government has launched a Future Fund to support continued growth and innovation in sectors as diverse as technology, life sciences and the creative industries.

Subject to eligibility, the Fund can issue convertible loans between £125,000 to £5 million to innovative companies, subject to at least equal match funding from private investors.

If you run a business or are self-employed and are concerned about paying your tax due to coronavirus, you can call HMRC’s helpline on 0800 024 1222.

KCC has a dedicated business support line for coronavirus-related issues, delivered by the Kent & Medway Growth Hub.

Call 03333 602 300

More businesses are operating online due to the coronavirus. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published guidance for sole traders and SMEs on moving from the physical to the digital.

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) now advises British people against all non-essential travel worldwide.

From 15 February onwards, everyone allowed to enter England from outside the Common Travel Area (Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man) must:

• quarantine for 10 days
• take a coronavirus (COVID-19) test on day 2 and day 8 of quarantining unless your job permits exemption
• follow the national lockdown rules

There are separate rules for people travelling from 'red list' countries where travel to the UK is banned.

From 15 February onwards, everyone allowed to enter England who has visited or passed through a country where travel to the UK is banned (i.e. 'red list' countries) in the last 10 days must:

• quarantine for 10 full days in a managed quarantine hotel
• take a coronavirus (COVID-19) test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8 of quarantining
• follow the national lockdown rules