The Rural Services Network, along with other members of the Rural Coalition, a grouping of organisations representing rural areas has written to Rt Hon Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health, asking for a localised approach to #covid19uk track and trace with rural communities. 

Because of the dispersed and limited health and social care infrastructure, the emphasis on future management of the pandemic in rural areas will need to be focused on quickly preventing intra-community transmission as well as reducing, where possible, transmission from other areas. This means that we must make use of local capacity to identify outbreaks very quickly and to prevent them from spreading within the community.

To read the full letter click here

LOCAL TEST AND TRACE: the Government announcement on 22nd May of funding so that local authorities (as public health authorities) can play a key role in the measures being developed to test and trace Covid-19 infection cases is welcome.  A national, one-size-fits-all approach would not have been sufficiently nuanced.  A local led approach, by those who know their patch and its networks, is more likely to succeed in preventing transmission within rural communities.

For more information read the Government announcement at this link.