In today's COVID-19 update from Cardiff Council: letter of thanks to all public sector workers; Cardiff Council teams supporting work to transform Principality Stadium into a temporary hospital; stay home, save lives; and Easter waste and recycling collections.
The COVID-19 Update will be back on Tuesday, 14thApril.
Letter of thanks to all public sector workers
A joint letter of thanks has been sent to Cardiff Council staff, and other public sector workers, from the Leader of the Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, along with other leads on the Public Services Board.
The letter opens with the following:
Dear colleagues,
On behalf of the Cardiff Public Services Board we are writing to say simply: thank you.
Thank you for your efforts to keep the people of our city safe and well, for your work to protect and support our most vulnerable and for your work to keep essential public services running as we do all we can to stop the spread of this virus.
Thank you for your efforts to keep the people of our city safe and well, for your work to protect and support our most vulnerable and for your work to keep essential public services running as we do all we can to stop the spread of this virus.
To read the letter in full, click here:
Cardiff Council teams supporting work to transform Principality Stadium into a temporary hospital
With the help from Cardiff Council Staff, the Principality Stadium is being transformed into a temporary hospital so that adequate ICU facilities can be provided to the NHS, as part of the on-going COVID-19 response.
The temporary hospital, named Dragon's Heart Hospital, is due to open this Saturday, April 11th, with space available for 300 beds. The capacity of the hospital can be increased up to 2000 beds if required.
Our First Point of Contact Hospital Service Team within Independent Living Services, known as The Pink Army, will be widening their presence to the Dragon's Heart Hospital. They will provide vital support to a range of patients who are being discharged. This will take place in addition to their continued support to Health colleagues and patients at the University Hospital of Wales.
Cardiff Council continues to prioritise the removal of NHS waste from 40 sites across the city. The skip hire service is no longer available to the public, as all of the skips are now reserved for the NHS and other essential service customers.
The work to transform the stadium into a hospital will be a 24/7 operation to ensure beds are available when they are required.
A letter has been delivered by staff to all residents living on Westgate Street and Fitzhamon Embankment, on behalf of the Council and Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board.
It has been made very clear that there is no increased risk to residents from living in the vicinity of the temporary facility. Questions and answers have been provided, as well as contact details in case residents have any further concerns.
Local members will continue to be updated as this project continues and further assistance will be provided if required.
Stay Home. Save Lives
Thank you to the majority of our park users who have been observing social distancing requirements.
We want to keep the city's parks open as long as possible, so people can exercise and get some fresh air - so please, keep using them responsibly.
From the end of this week, HM Coastguard will start supporting Cardiff Council and South Wales Police by patrolling the city with a clear message, broadcast by loud hailer, to ‘Stay home, save lives.'
The full message to be broadcast will say: "Stay home, save lives. Observe social distancing outside and stay 2 metres apart. Help protect the NHS".
Easter Waste and Recycling Collections
Your collection day will remain the same during Easter this year, but collection times may change so please ensure your waste is out by 6am.
Waste collection services will operate on both Good Friday (10 April) and Easter Monday (13 April).
Our waste collection team will work across the Easter bank holidays to ensure the collection service continues.
Recycling
We're asking that you continue to separate recyclable materials, just as you normally would, as we recognise that there would be no space in your black bin / red striped bags for these items if you didn't have a recycling bag collection.
Cardiff wants to become the best recycling city in the world, so we want you to continue to use your green recycling bags to keep up good habits for when the crisis is over.
The following items can go in your green recycling bag:
Cardboard Easter egg boxes
Plastic packaging from Easter egg boxes
Foil (please make sure that it is clean and scrunched up in a ball)
If you're unsure if an item can go into your recycling bag, please check our Recycling A-Z:
https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/resident/Rubbish-and-recycling/A-Z-of-recycling/Pages/default.aspx