Dear City residents and workers,We hope this letter finds you safe and well.

As we enter Spring, we also begin our journey on the Government’s roadmap out of national lockdown.

This four stage plan provides welcome clarity on the days and months ahead, and like us we are sure you are all looking forward to a much better summer.

Stay the course 

In the meantime, however, it’s important we all keep up the good work and continue to follow the rules in order to reduce transmission, save lives and protect the NHS.

That includes continuing measures like washing hands, wearing face coverings and keeping your two-metre distance from others.

Testing also remains a crucial tool, and the City hosts test sites for those with and without COVID symptoms. Full details are available at www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/covid19testing.

Home testing kits for those with school-age children or teachers in the household are also available to order online via www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

Support

If you test positive for COVID-19 and are told to self-isolate, but you are not able to work from home and will lose income as a result of self-isolating, you may be eligible for a £500 payment. You can call the City Corporation on 020 7332 3937 to discuss.

If you cannot arrange for food, medication and other essential items to be delivered while you and your household self-isolate, please let the City Corporation know. You can do this by emailing col-covid-19@cityoflondon.gov.uk, or by calling 020 7606 3030.

You can also call City Advice for help with food, benefits advice and debt on 020 7392 2919, or email them at city.advice@toynbeehall.org.uk

Vaccinations

Moving forward, more and more of us will be contacted to receive our COVID vaccinations.

Thousands of those living in the City have already been vaccinated against COVID, and more than 200 million people across the world have now safely had theirs too.

There are now three safe vaccines which will protect you from coronavirus, available free of charge from the NHS.

They’ve been through rigorous clinical trials, tested on hundreds of thousands of people here in the UK and worldwide, and have been approved by the British Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Getting your vaccine as soon as you are offered it will protect you, your family, and those you care for.

See www.NHS.uk/covidvaccine for the current eligibility criteria, and information on how to book. Those of you that received the first dose of your vaccination at St Bartholomew’s Hospital will be contacted in due course to book in your second.

Census

We would also like to remind residents that 21 March is Census Day.

The census is a survey about all the households in England and Wales. Everyone must complete it and provide accurate information as it helps decide how services are funded in their local area.

Organisations such as ours and charities use this picture to plan and fund the services we all need, including transport, education and healthcare. Without the census, it’d be much more difficult to do this so do please take the opportunity complete the census when details are sent to you.

Thanks, as always, for your support.