Stay Well this Christmas

Stay Well this Christmas

As we head into the busy festive period – with plenty of people heading to parties and family get-togethers – Public Health officials are sharing advice on how to Stay Well.

Christmas this year will be our first without restrictions since 2019 – remember Christmas 2020 in lockdown when we were only able to gather in small family groups for just one day?

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

This festive season our residents are looking forward to larger gatherings with family and friends as the Covid and flu viruses continue to circulate in the community.

As these infections spread more easily when we spend time together indoors, there are simple actions we can all take to protect ourselves and our loved ones while we’re enjoying spending time together. I would encourage everyone to stay safe and well by sharing the gift of good infection control measures this Christmas and New Year.

The simple things we can all do to protect against respiratory illnesses including flu and Covid are:

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

Seasonal themed content as part of the Stay Well infection prevention and control campaign is currently being shared across bus shelters and digital screens in the borough and via social media, to remind residents how far we’ve come since the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.

Coun Damian Talbot, Executive Member for Prevention, Health & Wellbeing, said:

I, for one, am looking forward to spending time with extended family and friends over Christmas and New Year after the restrictions of the Covid pandemic meant we had to reduce celebrations.

It’s surreal now to look back on Christmas 2020. The nation was in lockdown and Blackburn with Darwen in particular had high infection rates of Covid, and we were only allowed to meet up with close family. Hugs and kisses weren’t allowed and if we wanted to meet up with any other loved ones, our only options was braving the weather and meeting up outdoors.

We’ve come such a long way in our Covid recovery and that, in part, is due to the increased hygiene measures we’re all used to now – washing our hands more frequently, carrying hand sanitiser, and staying away from others if we’re unwell, for example.

I’ll be continuing to do my bit to Stay Well and protect my loved ones, and urge others to do so too.