Letter to Businesses from Dr Rupert Suckling - May 2021

Dear Business Owner/Manager,

I would like to extend my congratulations on reopening to the public during these challenging times and on helping to keep the economy moving for the last 15 months by finding innovative ways to keep trading. Your efforts to ensure compliance during Coronavirus (Covid-19) are protecting thousands of customers across the borough and providing a vital boost to the local area.

None of this would be possible without the best efforts of your staff, all of whom are key assets to your business.

As a council, we have actively supported the safe return to retail, hospitality and leisure and we are constantly monitoring the latest public health guidance to ensure we can support all businesses to provide both safe and enjoyable environments.

I now wish to request that you do your bit to support the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme. Many people in the “working age” demographic have been, or will be, contacted to undergo their first vaccine which protects against the impact of Coronavirus.

The vaccine is the best way to protect yourself from the virus. Vaccinated people are far less likely to get symptoms from Covid-19, and are even more unlikely to get seriously ill, be admitted to hospital, or to die from it. There’s growing evidence that vaccinated people are less likely to pass the virus to others. The vaccine reduces chances of hospitalisation by 85%. 

Therefore, it is vitally important that employees are given the requisite time off to attend their appointments. By allowing for time for staff to be immunised, you are assisting in reducing the potential spread within your organisation, while it will also reduce absenteeism in the long run.

I also invite you to take advantage of the extensive number of free downloadable resources – such as leaflets and posters – for you to use. These can be accessed here: https://www.doncaster.gov.uk/services/health-wellbeing/covid-19-resource-centre

Please continue with the basics of hands, face, space and fresh air.

We will be providing a further update ahead of Step 4 of the Government’s roadmap out of the current coronavirus restrictions. At this moment, this is scheduled to commence on 21 June 2021, subject to change.

We recognise that these are challenging times for business; help and support for your company is available from our Team Doncaster partners Doncaster Chamber: https://www.doncaster-chamber.co.uk and our Business Doncaster team: www.businessdoncaster.co.uk 

Thank you once again for your cooperation and we wish you continued success.

Kind regards,

Dr Rupert Suckling
Director of Public Health
Doncaster Council