Following the publication of the Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy ‘Our Plan To Rebuild’, the Parish Council would like to remind villagers what this means for Long Wittenham.
The good news is that people may now exercise outside as many times each day as they wish and can participate in sports such as angling and tennis, but only with up to one person from outside their own household, so there can be no team sports unless played only with members of the same household.
People may drive to outdoor open spaces, irrespective of distance, so long as they respect social distancing guidance while they are there, because this does not involve contact with people outside your household.
These revisions are subject to:
(1) not meeting up with any more than one person from outside the same household;
(2) continued compliance with social distancing guidelines to remain two metres (6ft) away from people outside the same household;
(3) good hand hygiene, particularly with respect to shared surfaces;
(4) those responsible for public places being able to put appropriate measures in place to follow the new COVID-19 secure guidance.
This means that it is perfectly acceptable to use the village open spaces.
But, the Government views playgrounds as being of higher risk due to the possibility of close contact and touching surfaces. With this in mind, the playground equipment at Westfield Road, Acklings and Bodkins must not be used. The Parish Council is not undertaking its usual weekly inspections. If you use the equipment, you do so at your own risk.