COVID-19 previous updates - 24 March

24 March 2020

Reuse and Recycling Centres | Price hiking | New rules on social distancing | Translations of Government advice and guidance | Previous updates

Reuse and Recycling Centres

In response to the developing situation around COVID-19/Coronavirus and the latest government advice, the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) took the decision to close all reuse and recycling centres (RRCs) to the public for the foreseeable future, effective today.

The NLWA are responsible for the management and disposal of the household waste that is produced in Haringey.

Haringey and our partners are working hard to maintain waste collection services. The closure of the RRCs is likely to increase pressure on local waste collection services. We would ask residents to avoid using this self-isolation period to ‘spring clean’ and, where possible, try not to produce unnecessary waste. This will help us keep critical services such as household ‘black bin’ waste, recycling, green waste and bulky waste running. 

For further information on the closures of RRCs, please visit the NLWA Wise Up To Waste website (external link). 

Price-hiking

Our Trading Standards team have been made aware of a number of shops in the borough hiking up prices (profiteering) of essential items as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Competition and Marketing Agency (CMA) have successfully prosecuted a number of businesses and have now set up an online reporting tool (external link) for profiteering cases.

If you become aware of any such practises, please report it to the CMA and Haringey Trading Standards via Report It, Contact Frontline or do it online.

New rules on social distancing

Last night Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new and tougher rules on social distancing. We encourage all of our residents to follow these steps to help tackle the coronavirus and save lives.

Number 10 confirmed that police will now be able to disperse gatherings in public of more than two people (excluding the people you live with) and will be able to fine anyone flouting the rules.

The PM said people will only be allowed to leave their home for the following purposes:

• shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible;
• one form of exercise a day - for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household;
• any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person; and
• travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.

Shops selling non-essential goods, libraries, playgrounds, outdoor gyms and places of worship will all be closed immediately. Weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies (except funerals) are also cancelled.

What does this mean in Haringey?

• Weddings – All weddings and civil partnerships are not allowed to take place by law. Emergency protocols are in place to accommodate urgent needs. Anyone needing an appointment is to email registrars@haringey.gov.uk
• Parks – They will currently remain open in Haringey, but cafés, toilets, play equipment, outdoor gyms, skate parks, paddling pools and sports courts will all be closed immediately. As with other boroughs, if people do not follow the social distancing advice (external link) we will not hesitate to close our parks completely.
• Customer Services – Both Marcus Garvey and Wood Green Customer Service Centres are now closed.  Staff are being diverted to answering calls at our customer service contact centre. This is so you can still get in touch with us by calling 020 8489 0000.
• We still need help to ensure we are prioritising those in the community who may be more vulnerable. To keep everyone safe, we are advising that you do not call us unless you really need to. You can carry out a wide range of transactions online here
• Libraries – All of the libraries in Haringey are now closed. We will be looking at alternative ways of providing our services, including online options. We will update you when we have more information, so please check the website every day.
• Businesses – There is a dedicated page for business support and advice.
• Communities – To all our residents, if you are worried about the impact of coronavirus on your money, accessing essential items or accessing the support you need, please call our Connected Communities line on 020 8489 4431, which is open Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm, or visit Haringey Together
• Residents can also use our new ‘Haringey Connected’ mobile app, which is available for free in app stores, providing information on Haringey services and the latest news on what’s happening locally.

Please read the official guidance on social distancing (external link) and help save lives!

Translations of Government advice and guidance

The Government has published their advice on social distancing (external link) for everyone in the UK and protecting older people and vulnerable adults, as well at stay at home guidance (external link) for households with possible coronavirus, in a multitude of different languages.

They include Arabic, Bengali, Traditional Chinese/Cantonese, Simplified Chinese/Mandarin, French, Gujarati, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Urdu and Welsh.

Doctors of the World also has a large number of translations (external link), including Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Czech, Dari, Farsi, French, Hindi, Hungarian, Kurdish Sorani, Lithuanian, Malayalam, Mandarin, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Sindhi, Slovak, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese.

Here in Haringey, we’re looking to get the open letters from our Director of Public Health, Dr Will Maimaris (see Health advice pages), translated into the languages most applicable and pertinent to our communities in the borough. We hope to have them very soon indeed.

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Previous updates:

• 23 March:
  • Wood Green Library and Customer Service Centre | Parks | Waste | Stop all unnecessary travel | Library closures | Parking restrictions
• 22 March:
  • S-cool online resources for remote learning
• 21 March:
  • Marcus Garvey Customer Services Centre and Library | Changes to parking restrictions
• 20 March:
  • Haringey parks | Support for businesses | Update from London Fire Brigade Haringey | Cancellation of marriage appointments | ‘Key Workers’ list published | Free School Meals
• 19 March:
  • Social distancing | Schools | Transport | Museum and Archives | Energy industry support
• 18 March:
  • Schools | Business support | Service update
• 17 March:
  • Government advice to stop spreading the virus | What to do if you feel unwell
• 4 and 13 March:
  • What can I do?

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