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COVID-19 Update: 24th April

Here is the latest COVID-19 daily round-up from Cardiff Council, covering: a reminder that Free School Meals provision changes from Monday; the Lord Mayor's Charities need you; and cemeteries are to re-open in Cardiff while Blackweir Bridge is set to close.

 

A Reminder that Free School Meals provision changes from Monday

 

From Monday, 27thApril, families with children eligible for Free School Meals will be able to buy food using funds deposited directly into their bank account, whilst schools are closed due to COVID-19. This will provide parents with more flexibility on where they can shop and the voucher scheme which is currently being delivered will continue to run alongside the new arrangement.

 

Cardiff Council has developed the new arrangement which will deliver BACS payments using Parent Pay, an online payment system now used by all schools in Cardiff.

 

For families not able to access Parent Pay, the voucher scheme currently being used will continue to be offered.

 

 

The Lord Mayor's Charities need you!

 

​Charities across the UK are counting the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic with the cancellation of thousands of fundraising events.

 

The London Marathon alone, which should have taken place this Sunday 26 April, is the world's biggest one-day fundraising event and raised more than £66.4m for charities in 2019.

 

Organisers of the biggest mass-participation sports events across the country have come together to create a new campaign to raise vital funds for the UK's charities, including this year's Lord Mayor's charities, Welsh Women's Aid & BAWSO.

 

The 2.6 Challenge, launching on Sunday 26 April, is asking people to take part in an activity of their choice based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 and to fundraise or donate to support their chosen charity.

 

The challenge could be walking, running or cycling 2.6 miles, juggling for 2.6 minutes, to holding online workouts with 26 friends. The only requirement is that you must follow Government guidelines on exercise and social distancing. You can take part on Sunday or whenever is most convenient for you.

 

The Lord Mayor himself, Cllr Dan De'Ath has signed up to the challenge to run 2.6 miles around Roath:

https://youtu.be/qtWzAzhOzk8

 

To sign up for your own 2.6 challenge, follow these four simple steps.

 

  1. Dream up your 2.6 challenge
  2. Visit  https://twopointsixchallenge.justgiving.com/get-involved  Search for Welsh Women's Aid and BAWSO to donate or to set up a fundraising page.
  3. Ask your friends and family to sponsor you and challenge them to do their own 2.6 Challenge
  4. Share a photo or video of your challenge on social media with #TwoPointSixChallenge- remembering to tag @welshwomensaid @BAWSO

 

For further information on The 2.6 Challenge and for more ideas about what your activity could be, visit twopointsixchallenge.co.uk

 

For more information on Welsh Women's Aid, visit:

https://www.welshwomensaid.org.uk/and Bawso,go to:

https://bawso.org.uk/

 

 

Cemeteries to re-open in Cardiff while Blackweir Bridge set to close

 

Four cemeteries in Cardiff will re-open to members of the public from Saturday (25thApril),with newly-redeployed teams in place to ensure social distancing is maintained and the spaces are not used inappropriately during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

 

The council is calling on the public to only visit the cemeteries if they are attending a grave or for a funeral so that social distancing can be observed. In a separate move Blackweir Bridge across the Taff is being closed to the public after signs calling on people to observe social distancing were ignored despite repeated warnings.

 

The cemeteries were temporarily closed to the public at the start of April following a weekend that saw an unusually high number of visitors to the sites and reports of picnics, ball games and other large social gatherings taking place in the grounds. At the time the cemeteries were closed the Council advised that the decision would be kept under ongoing review.

 

From Saturday staff, mainly redeployed from the Council's parks service, with support from South Wales Police, will provide a visible presence at Cathays, Western, Thornhill and Pantmawr Cemeteries and will be closely monitoring usage of the sites, which will be open between 8am and 6pm.

 

Teams from our parks service will also continue their joint patrols with South Wales Police across Cardiff's parks and green spaces.

 

The Council has recently taken action to ensure social distancing is maintained at Roath Park Lake, introducing a one-way system around the perimeter, and plans have also been agreed today to temporarily close Blackweir Bridge.

 

You can read the full story here:

https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/23713.html