The latest pronouncement from the Government - dated 12 April 2021
- by Gary the Secretary
The Government’s Covid Recovery Roadmap seems to be progressing well, particularly vaccinations. Every U3A member who wanted one has had at least the first jab, many have had both, and we seem to be on course for all our members to have had both jabs by 17th May which is the planned date for the “Step 3” easing of Coronavirus restrictions.
So assuming there are no unforeseen disasters, we are starting to plan for re-starting U3A face-to-face meetings. Here is the outlook:
Present situation
As notified in Bulletin 19, there will be a re-opening of “non-essential retail” and outdoor hospitality from Monday, 12th April (which includes hairdressers!) So too will self-catering holiday accommodation, and more guests will be allowed at weddings (15) wakes (15) and funerals (30). Care Home Residents will be allowed 2 visitors.
Indoor meetings are still banned, (so the Community Centre* will remain closed), though outdoors, since 29th March, up to 6 can meet with social distancing (more if it is only two households), so with some decent weather our smaller Groups could think about meeting in parks or private gardens or doing walks.
(*Officially, Community Centres are allowed to open their doors, but there is very little that is allowed to happen inside, so Burnham’s is expected to stay closed till Step 3.)
The first big milestone is in Step 3, planned for 17th May.
We are not aware of significant changes from what we told you in Bulletin 19 (reprinted in the latest U3A Magazine) so I won’t repeat it all again. The key change for us is that the 12th April limit on outdoor meetings (‘Rule of 6’ or two households) will move indoors. Outdoors, a new limit of 30 persons comes into force. This means that any U3A Group can plan to meet outside. The risk of transmission is greatly reduced by vaccination, but it is even further reduced in the open air . A Gazebo with 3 sides rolled up counts as Open Air, as does any roofed area with 3 open sides, so you don’t have to sit in the rain!
The Community Centre will reopen on 17th May, but the rules (not yet announced) will almost certainly include that indoor meetings limit of 6 per room. Weather permitting, we are considering the possibility of restarting U3A Coffee Mornings outdoors, between 20th May and 17th June. This might be on the car park (subject to Council permission); another possibility is in Marine Cove. Watch this space!
Back to normal on 21st June?
We hope so! All Groups should be able to restart indoors from this date, all being well, so you can make plans on this basis. There may be special rules in force for a time, so you will need to check availability of rooms. There is no guarantee that every room allocation from pre-pandemic can be maintained, so Group Leaders are asked to fill in the usual yearly room booking form and please check with the Community Centre Rooming Officer (Jane) before announcing your restart arrangements. She will be in the office on Tuesday mornings, 10.00-12.00, Tel 792666
The first ‘normal’ Thursday, June 24th will be our much-delayed AGM in the Methodist Church, so our first indoor Coffee Morning should be on July 1st.
- by Gary the Secretary
The Government’s Covid Recovery Roadmap seems to be progressing well, particularly vaccinations. Every U3A member who wanted one has had at least the first jab, many have had both, and we seem to be on course for all our members to have had both jabs by 17th May which is the planned date for the “Step 3” easing of Coronavirus restrictions.
So assuming there are no unforeseen disasters, we are starting to plan for re-starting U3A face-to-face meetings. Here is the outlook:
Present situation
As notified in Bulletin 19, there will be a re-opening of “non-essential retail” and outdoor hospitality from Monday, 12th April (which includes hairdressers!) So too will self-catering holiday accommodation, and more guests will be allowed at weddings (15) wakes (15) and funerals (30). Care Home Residents will be allowed 2 visitors.
Indoor meetings are still banned, (so the Community Centre* will remain closed), though outdoors, since 29th March, up to 6 can meet with social distancing (more if it is only two households), so with some decent weather our smaller Groups could think about meeting in parks or private gardens or doing walks.
(*Officially, Community Centres are allowed to open their doors, but there is very little that is allowed to happen inside, so Burnham’s is expected to stay closed till Step 3.)
The first big milestone is in Step 3, planned for 17th May.
We are not aware of significant changes from what we told you in Bulletin 19 (reprinted in the latest U3A Magazine) so I won’t repeat it all again. The key change for us is that the 12th April limit on outdoor meetings (‘Rule of 6’ or two households) will move indoors. Outdoors, a new limit of 30 persons comes into force. This means that any U3A Group can plan to meet outside. The risk of transmission is greatly reduced by vaccination, but it is even further reduced in the open air . A Gazebo with 3 sides rolled up counts as Open Air, as does any roofed area with 3 open sides, so you don’t have to sit in the rain!
The Community Centre will reopen on 17th May, but the rules (not yet announced) will almost certainly include that indoor meetings limit of 6 per room. Weather permitting, we are considering the possibility of restarting U3A Coffee Mornings outdoors, between 20th May and 17th June. This might be on the car park (subject to Council permission); another possibility is in Marine Cove. Watch this space!
Back to normal on 21st June?
We hope so! All Groups should be able to restart indoors from this date, all being well, so you can make plans on this basis. There may be special rules in force for a time, so you will need to check availability of rooms. There is no guarantee that every room allocation from pre-pandemic can be maintained, so Group Leaders are asked to fill in the usual yearly room booking form and please check with the Community Centre Rooming Officer (Jane) before announcing your restart arrangements. She will be in the office on Tuesday mornings, 10.00-12.00, Tel 792666
The first ‘normal’ Thursday, June 24th will be our much-delayed AGM in the Methodist Church, so our first indoor Coffee Morning should be on July 1st.
Site powered by Weebly. Managed by Easy Internet Solutions LTD