Stay safe: Redbridge parks to be regularly patrolled with extra COVID-19 Marshals

A dedicated team of COVID-19 marshals will be patrolling Redbridge parks this week as part of the council’s community engagement work to help residents stay safe during the school half term.

The dedicated team includes community volunteers keen to do what they can to ensure parks across the borough are enjoyed safely by everyone. They will be handing out information and reminding people to follow the national government guidelines.

Leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Jas Athwal, said: “More frequent patrols in our parks, especially during this half term week, will help keep our parks safe for local people to enjoy. We are lucky to have so many wonderful parks and green spaces in Redbridge and, especially with the milder weather, people will want to use them to keep healthy and enjoy some fresh air; but we must remember to follow government guidance by keeping our distance from anyone we don’t live with. We can all play our part to stop the spread of Covid-19 and keep our friends, family members and neighbours safe.”

“In addition to regular patrols, our council is continuing to work with local communities in different ways to help people stay safe. Our Redbridge Covid-19 vaccination programme is going really well with nearly 90 percent of over local people over 80s vaccinated and more than 90 percent of 75-79-year olds having had their first jab. But testing continues to play a vital role in a broad approach to controlling the spread of COVID-19 to reduce the number of cases, reduce the number of deaths, and support our NHS.”

The park patrols are part of the council’s wider engagement work to control the spread of the virus. Redbridge Council staff and trained volunteers are providing a doorstep engagement service to homes in the borough answering questions and directing people to where they can get tested.

This week, the team will be out in Clementswood, Fairlop and Goodmayes.  This very localised door-to-door engagement is in addition to rapid testing available at the council’s permanent testing sites, which are at:

• Redbridge Central Library, Ilford, IG1 1BP
• Wanstead Youth Centre, 144 Elmcroft Avenue, E11 2DB
• Hainault Library, 100 Manford Way, Chigwell, IG7 4DD
  
  

People who must leave home for work, are advised to get a rapid test twice a week.  They can do this by booking an appointment at one of the permanent rapid testing sites above or by visiting one of the pop-up testing sites below between 10am and 7pm on specific days. For the pop-up testing sites people do not need to book an appointment, they can just turn up. The pop-ups are at:

• Monday – Wednesday: Fullwell Cross library, 140 High St, Ilford, IG6 2EA
• Thursday – Friday: Newbury Hall Children’s centre, Ilford IG2 7LU
• Saturday – Sunday: Keith Axon Library, Romford RM6 4XB

If residents have COVID-19 symptoms, they should make an appointment (using the link below)  for a PCR test at one of our permanent test sites below, or order a home test kit through the national portal.

• Mildmay Road Car Park, 1 Mildmay Road, Ilford, IG1 1HW
• Gants Hill Library Car Park, Cranbrook Road, Ilford, IG2 6SX
• Charteris Car Park, Charteris Road, Woodford, IG8 0AL
  
  

For more information on COVID-19 safety and testing visit www.redbridge.gov.uk/coronavirus-information-hub

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