Norfolk County Council’s Public Health is launching a public health campaign to help keep Norfolk residents safe from the coronavirus.

The campaign kick-started at Hethersett Woodside Primary and Nursery School with the launch of a new poster to encourage early years and primary school children to wash their hands with soap particularly at mealtimes. It has now been rolled out to pre-schools, nurseries, childminders and schools across the county.

A similar message aimed at all residents will also be rolled out across the county, supported by the Norfolk Resilience Forum.

Diane Steiner, Deputy Director of Public Health at Norfolk County Council and headteacher Angela Jermy came together to put up the first posters in Woodside School, reminding pupils to do their part.

Resources for schools and communities will be available at www.norfolk.gov.uk/coronavirustoolkit which encourage Norfolk residents to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds soap and warm water- one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of the virus. The toolkit will contain social media assets and posters translated into 15 different languages and be kept up to date to mirror the latest advice from Public Health England.

Diane Steiner, Deputy Director of Public Health at Norfolk County Council, said: “While there’s a lot of hard work going on to be ready for the coronavirus, for most people the easy steps are still the best. Washing your hands and avoiding touching your face may sound basic, but they can have a huge impact on slowing the spread of the virus, limiting the number of cases and keeping cases at manageable levels. If you want to prepare for coronavirus, start with soap and water.

“We want to make sure that schools and communities in Norfolk have easy access to the latest advice and that it is presented in a way that they will find both engaging and accessible.”

Angela Jermy, Headteacher of Hethersett Woodside Primary and Nursery School, said: “We all want our children to stay safe from coronavirus, and teaching them how they can protect themselves and others is vital. The fact that these easy measures can be so effective means there’s no excuse for even our youngest pupils not to be following the advice and helping stop spread the disease, so we’re making sure they’re doing their part; now it’s down to the rest of us to follow their example.”

There are some simple steps we can all take to help keep ourselves safe and prevent the spread of Coronavirus:

• Reduce the risk of catching and/or spreading viral infections. Wash your hands! It sounds obvious, but there are so many occasions where we put our hands to our mouth giving viruses an easy way in. Regular handwashing can reduce that risk significantly, and it only takes 20 seconds to wash them properly by following  this NHS guide.
• Avoid touching your hands to your face as much as possible, especially to your eyes, mouth or nose.
• Catch it, Bin it, Kill it … Germs can live on some surfaces for hours. To protect yourself and others, always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Bin the tissue, and to kill the germs, wash your hands with soap and water, or use a sanitiser gel.

For the latest information on the Coronavirus visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public. If anyone has any concerns about their health they should call 111.