As we prepare for a fourth successive weekend under strict new coronavirus laws, Leeds City Council is ramping up its efforts to protect the most vulnerable people in our communities.
Thousands of people rely on essential services provided by the local authority from elderly people living in care homes to schoolchildren who are handed free lunches.
As the city went into lockdown, Leeds City Council leader Cllr Judith Blake promised that it "will rise to meet the challenge" that Covid-19 presents.
While some outreach efforts are still being put in place, others have been up and running for weeks to help those most in need.
Half of the council's workforce are now working from home, but thousands of others are carrying out crucial roles across the city.
This includes care workers who are carrying out essential visits to vulnerable residents, school teachers who are continuing to put on lessons for children of key workers and refuse collectors who have emptied 700,000 bins over the past fortnight.
A number of staff members are also being retrained in other areas to minimise the impact of employees who are forced to self isolate. This includes youth workers moving into children’s residential care and staff from the council’s nurseries and cleaning teams moving over to support childcare and cleaning in NHS hospitals.
Companies have been supported with almost £40 million of business grants, while there are all manner of volunteer programmes being geared up to take the council's response up another level.
Much of the focus is on the city's elderly population. Every single council tenant aged 70 and over is being contacted directly to ensure that they are safe and well, while 10,000 phone calls a week are being made to those who live on their own.
The numbers have been revealed as Cllr Blake issued a stark reminder to people to stay indoors over the Easter weekend.
She said: "As a council we remain firmly committed to doing everything we possibly can to help our people and businesses get through this difficult time as best we can, and if we remain resolute and united to defeat this virus together we will succeed.
"We know the current situation is challenging for all of us, and if the weather is nice people will want to go out but it is absolutely crucial that people play their part over the Easter weekend by staying home and following the rules to help save lives and protect the NHS.
"While most people are doing the right thing we know there is unfortunately a minority who are disregarding the rules and think they don’t apply to them. I would say to those people please stop so we can all get through this as quickly as possible and help minimise the number of lives lost.
For more information about how Leeds City Council can help you during the coronavirus lockdown, visit their dedicated Covid-19 website.
Businesses can also find out what support is available to them here.
