New Stay Well campaign aims to keep Covid rates low this winter

A new health campaign has been launched by Blackburn with Darwen Council, featuring a number of local people, including local football star Ben Brereton Diaz, in a bid to keep Covid and flu rates low this winter.

Stay Well, which launched this week, reflects how far we’ve come since the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 and encourages people to keep things moving forward by taking a number of simple actions to protect themselves and others.

The concept of the campaign is to remind people about some of the frustrations we encountered during the pandemic, such as lockdowns, social distancing, endless Zoom quizzes and challenging home schooling.

Positive messages such as Family Time NOT FaceTime, Social NOT Distance, Match Day NOT Match of the Day will appear on bus shelters and digital screens and across Council social media this week. Videos featuring memories from local people about what they missed during the pandemic will also appear on Facebook and Instagram.

Blackburn Rovers striker, Ben Brereton Diaz, who was filmed for the project said:

For me and the rest of the team it was hard to play behind closed doors because football is all about the fans.  But now the crowd is here again it feels amazing. Let’s keep things moving in the right direction.”

Local baker Hasina Bangi, from My Kitchen Bakery, also contributed to the campaign, talking about the impact of Covid on her wedding cake business. Hasina said:

After Covid and some hard times, I’m glad to say that we’re back in the game and this year has been busier than ever! Let’s work together to keep Covid and flu rates low this winter, so that we can continue celebrating with all our friends and family.”

The timely initiative hopes to raise awareness during winter when viruses to spread more easily, due to us spending more time indoors together.

The campaign message reminds people to continue with some of the safety measures they adopted over the last two years, such as:

• Getting vaccinated against Covid and flu
• Staying at home if you have symptoms of Covid or flu
• Keeping washing your hands and carry sanitiser when you’re out and about
• Keeping rooms well-ventilated by opening windows and doors to let in fresh air
• Carrying a face mask
• Carrying tissues to catch coughs and sneezes.

Abdul Razaq, Director of Public Health for Blackburn with Darwen, said:

For the last two winters, we’ve lived under some kind of Covid restrictions. I’m sure we’re all looking forward to a winter where we can enjoy the freedoms we missed for so long.

That said, Covid remains a very real concern, particularly to people who have conditions that make them vulnerable to winter viruses, and we must continue to take it seriously.

The simple actions we can all take to protect ourselves and others are not rocket science. They are the infection prevention measures we learnt to adopt during the course of the pandemic – things like keeping our hands clean, getting vaccinated, staying at home if we have a high temperature and so on. They do make a difference and can help to protect us against other viruses including flu and Norovirus, as well as Covid.”

More advice is available at: StayWellBwD.com.