The Scottish Government announced today that from next week some restrictions will be lifted. You can read the full statement here 

These include: 

• The lifting of restrictions around live attendance levels at live outdoor events will be removed from next Monday – 17 Jan.  

• The next review will take place next week (Tuesday 18 Jan). It is hoped that this review will confirm the lifting of more restrictions – including on indoor live events, table service in hospitality and distancing in indoor public places – from 24 January. 

The Scottish government also continue to advise the following as important mitigations against the spread of the virus: 

• Work from home if you are able 

• Get your booster (or COVID-19 vaccinations).   

• Continue to wear a face covering on public transport, when moving about in hospitality and in shops. 

• Limit your social interaction to 3 household where possible 

In addition, the importance of regular testing with Lateral Flow Test devices was re-emphasised. 

You can pick up free lateral flow tests from the Marischal College mail room 8am-4pm Mon-Fri. Find out more here.  

Test kits are also available for collection for colleagues from Roads, Waste and Building Services. Please contact local management teams in these services. 

You can also get tests by:  

• ordering online at gov.scot  

• phoning the National Testing Centre on 0300 303 2713  

• collecting from a COVID testing centre between 3.30pm and 8pm  

• collecting from some pharmacies  – Find your nearest pharmacy 

• collecting from your local libraries    

Working from home should be used wherever your role allows, and managers need to enable team members to work from home wherever possible, as an important part of complying with Scottish Government guidance.  

In line with Scottish Government guidance, our offices have remained open for those who require access to an ACC building to undertake their work, for mental health or other reasons.  

However, you should now only come into an office over the coming weeks if you truly need to – if your meeting can be held virtually, or your work can feasibly be done from home, you should do so. 

If you do come into the office or need to meet anyone face to face, please ensure you follow the mitigations in place, wear a face covering and take a lateral flow test. 

Please also follow the Returning to the Office Checklist. 

Today (21 Dec) the Scottish Government announced that there will be no immediate changes to the guidance in the run up to Christmas or across Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Further guidance will, however, come into place after Christmas.  

• Limit household mixing in the run up to Christmas to 3 households.  Keep family gatherings as small as possible 
• Work from home if you are able 
• Get your booster (or COVID-19 vaccinations) 
• Take regular lateral flow tests whenever you socialise or go anywhere which may be crowded  

Further guidance on self-isolation exemptions at Aberdeen City Council will be issued this week. ​​​​​​​

• From 26th December for 3 weeks crowd limits will be placed on live events  
• From 27th December until the end of the first week Jan (including over Hogmanay) please reduce socialising and stay at home as much as possible  
• From 27th December for 3 weeks all hospitality venues will need to operate on a table service only basis, groups will be limited to 3 households and 1m physical distancing will be in place  

You can pick up free lateral flow tests from the Marischal College mail room 8am-4pm Mon-Fri. Find out more here. Test kits are also available for collection for colleagues from Roads, Waste and Building Services. Please contact local management teams in these services. 

You can also get tests by:  

• ordering online at gov.scot  
• phoning the National Testing Centre on 0300 303 2713  
• collecting from a COVID testing centre between 3.30pm and 8pm  
• collecting from some pharmacies  – Find your nearest pharmacy 
• your local libraries    

Working from home should be used wherever your role allows. This is an important mitigation against the spread of the virus and managers need to enable team members to work from home wherever possible, as an important part of complying with Scottish Government guidance.  

In line with Scottish Government guidance, our offices have remained open for those who require access to an ACC building to undertake their work,  for mental health or other reasons.  

However, you should now only come into an office over the coming weeks if you truly need to – if your meeting can be held virtually, or your work can feasibly be done from home, you should do so. 

If you do come into the office or need to meet anyone face to face, please ensure you follow the mitigations in place, wear a face covering and take a lateral flow test. 

Please also follow the Returning to the Office Checklist. 

Following the announcement on 14 Dec from the Scottish Government new protective measures are being put in place.

Businesses will have a legal requirement to take measures which are reasonably practicable to minimise the risk of transmission including the return of physical distancing.  Guidance on what this means for business sectors will be issued later in the week and we will share once available.

Household mixing

Household mixing is not being banned or restricted in law as it was previously however if you do plan on socialising – either at home or in indoor public places – the Scottish Government are asking that you limit the number of households represented in your group to a maximum of three. And make sure you test before you go.

There are no limits to household mixing on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day or whenever you have your main family celebration.

Guidance will be issued by the Scottish Government on how to stay safe at Christmas. We will share this once it is available.

The following advice was also given:

Vaccines and Boosters

Ensure you get vaccinated and get your boosters when able. If you haven’t yet had your first jag please do so as soon as possible.

Boosters are now available for anyone over the age of 30 who had their second dose 3 months (or more) ago. You can book your booster here. This facility will also be available to those aged 18-29 from Wednesday 15 December.  

Self-Isolation

Changes to self-isolation guidance were issued last week. This is as follows:​​​​​​​

• All household contacts of a confirmed COVID case should isolate for 10 days regardless of an initial negative PCR test advice and regardless of vaccination status, with exemptions made for those in critical services.
• Guidance when available will be shared.Non household contacts should continue to isolate, pending a PCR result and can leave isolation with a negative result providing that they are also double-vaccinated.

Organisations providing vital services can apply for an exemption to allow essential workers to return to work, subject to them being symptom free and taking certain precautions, including daily lateral flow tests. ACC information on this will be shared when available. 

Working from Home

We would also like to remind all employees that working from home should continue to be used where your role allows. This is an important mitigation against the spread of the virus and managers should enable team members to work from home wherever possible. 

In line with Scottish Government guidance, our offices currently remain open for those who require access to an ACC building to undertake their work,  to allow for essential meetings, mental health or other reasons. 

We would, at this stage, urge you now and over the coming weeks to only come into an office if you truly need to – if your meeting can be held virtually, or your work can feasibly be done from home, please do so.

If you do come into the office or need to meet anyone face to face, please ensure you follow the mitigations in place, wear a face covering and take a lateral flow test.

Please also follow the Returning to the Office Checklist.

Lateral Flow Tests

You can pick up free lateral flow tests from the Marischal College mail room 8am-4pm Mon-Fri. Find out more here. Test kits are also available for collection for colleagues from Roads, Waste and Building Services. Please contact local management teams in these services.

You can also get tests by: 

• ordering online at gov.scot 
• phoning the National Testing Centre on 0300 303 2713 
• collecting from a COVID testing centre between 3.30pm and 8pm 
• collecting from some pharmacies  – Find your nearest pharmacy
• your local libraries  ​​​​​​​

If there are any further changes to guidance, we will let you know.

From today (17 Dec) businesses have a legal requirement to take measures which are reasonably practicable to minimise the risk of transmission including the return of physical distancing.   

For Aberdeen City Council buildings this will mean a return to 2m physical distancing, applied with immediate effect. 

Currently Marischal College and the Townhouse are set at 1m. Facilities Teams are in the process of converting these back to 2m. While this is underway, please ensure you remain 2 metres apart.  

When not seated at your workstation face coverings should be worn in any communal areas – including when walking around the buildings. Facilities Management and Health and Safety colleagues will do daily checks and will be able to advise colleagues about the latest guidance to ensure we are all compliant.   

Teams in other ACC workplaces should apply the same principles and follow the 2m distancing guidance. 

All other workplace guidance should continue to be followed. 

Working from home should be used wherever your role allows. This is an important mitigation against the spread of the virus and managers need to enable team members to work from home wherever possible, as an important part of complying with Scottish Government guidance.  

In line with Scottish Government guidance, our offices have remained open for those who require access to an ACC building to undertake their work,  for mental health or other reasons.  

However, you should now only come into an office over the coming weeks if you truly need to – if your meeting can be held virtually, or your work can feasibly be done from home, you should do so. 

If you do come into the office or need to meet anyone face to face, please ensure you follow the mitigations in place, wear a face covering and take a lateral flow test. 

Please also follow the Returning to the Office Checklist.  

You can pick up free lateral flow tests from the Marischal College mail room 8am-4pm Mon-Fri. Find out more here. Test kits are also available for collection for colleagues from Roads, Waste and Building Services. Please contact local management teams in these services. 

You can also get tests by:  

• ordering online at gov.scot  

• phoning the National Testing Centre on 0300 303 2713  

• collecting from a COVID testing centre between 3.30pm and 8pm  

• collecting from some pharmacies  – Find your nearest pharmacy 

• your local libraries     

Today (17 Dec) the Scottish Government reiterated that we should limit social interaction as much as possible. 

Whilst Household mixing is not being banned or restricted in law as it was previously however if you do plan on socialising – either at home or in indoor public places we should all limit the number of households represented in your group to maximum of three. And make sure you test before you go. 

There are no limits to household mixing on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day or whenever you have your main family celebration. 

Guidance will be issued by the Scottish Government on how to stay safe at Christmas. We will share this once it is available. 

Ensure you get vaccinated and get your boosters when able. If you haven’t yet had your first jag, please do so as soon as possible. 

Boosters are now available for anyone over the age of 18 who had their second dose 3 months (or more) ago. You can book your booster here.  

Changes to self-isolation guidance were issued last week. This is as follows:  

• All household contacts of a confirmed COVID case should isolate for 10 days regardless of an initial negative PCR test advice and regardless of vaccination status, with exemptions made for those in critical services. 

• Guidance when available will be shared. Non household contacts should continue to isolate, pending a PCR result and can leave isolation with a negative result providing that they are also double-vaccinated. 

Organisations providing vital services can apply for an exemption to allow essential workers to return to work, subject to them being symptom free and taking certain precautions, including daily lateral flow tests. ACC information on this will be shared when available. 

The Scottish Government has announced  that all current protections will remain in place with no immediate changes.   

The need for additional protections will now be kept under daily review and we will keep you informed of any changes. 

While no new protections are required to be put in place at this time, it is important that we continue to be more vigilant and: 

• Continue to be vaccinated 
• Wear your face covering in public places and on public transport 
• Avoid crowded spaces or gathering in large groups where possible 
• Remember hand hygiene  
• Keep windows open, where possible, to improve ventilation 
• Keep physical contact to a minimum 
• Don’t come into the office if you have COVID-19 symptoms self isolate and book a PCR test 

We would like to remind all employees that working from home should continue to be used where this is possible, as an important mitigation against the spread of the virus.  

Managers should enable team members to work from home where possible.  

It is also recommended that you take more regular lateral flow tests including whenever you go out for drinks/dinner, any socialising, visiting someone at home or going anywhere where there may be crowds; such as shopping. 

You can pick up free lateral flow tests from the Marischal College mail room 8am-4pm Mon-Fri. Find out more here. 

You can also get tests by:  

• ordering online at gov.scot  
• phoning the National Testing Centre on 0300 303 2713  
• collecting from a COVID testing centre between 3.30pm and 8pm  
• collecting from some pharmacies  – Find your nearest pharmacy 
• your local libraries   

Test kits are also available for collection for colleagues from Roads, Waste and Building Services. Please contact local management teams in these services. 

Issued on behalf of Angela Scott, Chief Executive;  Isla Newcombe, Chief Officer People and Organisational Development; UNITE and UNISON 

On December 11^th Scottish Government announced a change to the self-isolation guidance for household contacts of people testing positive for COVID-19. 

Throughout the pandemic, both Management and Trade Unions have seen the safety and wellbeing of ACC employees as paramount, and the emergence of a new variant, combined with the seasonal viruses that are around at this time of year, make it even more important that we are ensuring that measures are in place to keep staff safe and to allow them to comply with the Government guidance.  

At the same time, as part of the country’s Critical National Infrastructure, we are all well aware that many of the services we provide to the communities in Aberdeen are essential to maintain the safety and wellbeing of the citizens of Aberdeen.  

Local Authorities are able to apply exemptions from the self-isolation rules in some very specific circumstances. In order to apply an exemption, the following criteria must be met: 

• The service is impacted by staff shortages as a direct result of self-isolation requirements 
• a critical service is at imminent risk due to the staff shortage 
• The service has exhausted all other options to address pressures on operations 

Before a member of staff can volunteer to leave self-isolation early and return to work, the following criteria must also be met. The employee must: 

• have had their second COVID-19 vaccination more than 14 days ago 
• have a valid vaccination record (You can download the NHS Scotland Covid Status app or get a paper record of your vaccine status from NHS Inform.) 
• not have symptoms of COVID-19 
• have evidence of a negative PCR test 
• take daily lateral flow tests for up to 10 days after being exposed to the virus 
• fully comply with any PPE requirements, hand hygiene and other infection control measures 

In addition, staff who cannot reasonably isolate from on-going exposure to a COVID-19 positive household member will not usually be asked to return to work. 

At this time, a number of services have been identified as having exemptions applied. These services are: 

• Facilities Management – Cleaning, Catering and Janitorial 
• Roads  
• Contract Management 
• Environmental Services – Tree Squad, Grounds Maintenance, Bereavement Services, Street Cleaning, Pets Corner 
• Fleet 
• Environmental Health and Trading Standards 
• Scientific Services Lab 
• Waste and Recycling 
• Housing Access and Support 
• Community Learning and Development 
• Emergency Response (RCC) 
• Customer Response (Housing Repairs and Customer Service Centre) 
• Registrars 
• Education 

Separate exemption arrangements are already in place for Health and Social Care, including social work. 

Both Management and Trade Unions appreciate the very difficult position that individual employees may find themselves in as a result of the changes to the self-isolation guidance. Throughout the pandemic, the dedication of our workforce to continuing to deliver essential services to the citizens of Aberdeen has been superb, and we all recognise the conflict many will feel between following the guidance set out by the Government and maintaining the delivery of these essential services.  

The decision on whether to volunteer to end self-isolation and return to the workplace must be a personal one, and both Management and Trade Unions will do all we can to support individuals to make these decisions and will respect those decisions once made. It is important to emphasise the following points: 

• Self-Isolation Exemption is voluntary 
• Risk assessments remain in place and these are being updated where required. Trade Unions have access to all the risk assessments  
• Managers, P&OD colleagues and Trade Union reps are happy to discuss any concerns with employees around the exemptions 
• Support is also available from Time for Talking and on the wellbeing site on People Anytime Mental Health and Wellbeing – Aberdeen City Council: People Anytime ​​​​​​​

Management and Trade Union colleagues would like to jointly thank all ACC employees for your on going dedication to keeping essential services open and will do everything we can to work with you as we go through this next stage of the pandemic to ensure that we work together to do our best for the people of Aberdeen whilst doing all we can to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of our employees.  

Aberdeen City Council employees can now access rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) test kits.

Free lateral flow home test kits are available for pick up without an appointment from the Marischal College mail room from 08:00 to 16:00 (Mon-Fri).

The provision is aimed at finding cases that would otherwise go undetected, so anyone testing positive can self-isolate and avoid transmitting the virus to those around them.

It means anyone without symptoms, who does not already have access to asymptomatic testing in their workplace or community, can test themselves. (Anyone with symptoms should book a PCR test rather than a lateral flow test).

Each test pack contains seven rapid lateral flow device tests that can provide results in around 30 minutes. A positive result means people should self-isolate with their household and order a PCR test to confirm the positive result.

You can also get tests by: 

• ordering online at gov.scot 
• phoning the National Testing Centre on 0300 303 2713 
• collecting from a Covid testing centre between 3.30pm and 8pm 
• collecting from some pharmacies 
• your local libraries  

Test kits will also soon be available for collection for colleagues from Roads, Waste and Building Services. Local management teams in these services will announce this provision when arrangements are finalised. 

Anyone who receives a negative result should continue to follow the restrictions and guidance currently in place, as a negative result is not a guarantee that someone does not have COVID-19.

From October 27 individuals in the categories listed below have the ability to book a flu appointment online on the NHS Inform portal. 

Those eligible are as follows: 

Please note that Covid-19 boosters are not included, unless individuals are aged over 50 years and have achieved 24 weeks since their second Covid vaccination, in which case they may be co-administered.

Yesterday, the Scottish Government confirmed that, from 9 August, Scotland will move ‘beyond level 0’, with some mitigations to remain in place. 

Care and caution are still required, with some mitigations, guidance and advice remaining in place. A summary of these are as follows: 

• Face coverings must continue to be worn in indoor settings 

• Test and Protect – hospitality and indoor venues will still need to collect the contact details of customers

• Test and Protect will continue to contact trace-positive cases

• Some outbreak control methods such as local restrictions or travel restrictions will remain an option  

• The advice to work from home, where possible, remains in place for now, recognising that a return for some staff will be beneficial 

• Large-scale events can go ahead but they will still have to apply for permission. 

Although physical distancing is no longer a legal requirement, the advice remains to avoid crowded places and to physically distance where you can in indoor spaces. 

Specific guidance regarding the safety mitigations remaining in place for businesses, as well as guidance for employers, will be released by Scottish Government in the coming days. 

The Chief Medical Officer will be writing to those who have been at the highest risk from Covid-19 – who might previously have been asked to shield – to provide advice and information, and to give assurance that they too can return to a much greater degree of normality.   

The announcement also changes the requirements for self-isolation: 

• Those who have symptoms of Covid-19 or test positive are still required to self-isolate 

• Adults identified as close contacts of someone who tests positive will no longer be required to automatically self-isolate for 10 days – instead if they are double vaccinated for more than two weeks, they should get a PCR test and can end isolation if they test negative 

• Anyone aged 17 and under who is identified as a close contact should get a PCR test and will be able to end self-isolation if they test negative

• Under 5s are “encouraged but not required” to take PCR test 

Any specific changes to service delivery will be based on renewed guidance and communicated locally. 

As planned and discussed in recent communications, and based on the confirmation of a move to beyond level 0 by Scottish Government, in some circumstances, colleagues may be able to make greater use of office workplaces from 16 August onwards, where they have agreement from their service manager and/or Chief Officer.  

Colleagues from across the council are currently working together to implement plans around how we gradually make greater use of our office spaces and what will need to be in place in order to keep each other safe. Chief Officers are determining how services will make use of space allocation and this will be communicated locally. Guidance and resources for all employees are being developed to aid local discussions and decision making about how and when employees might make greater use of our offices. This will be based on the latest Scottish Government guidance due for release this week and will be shared with you in the coming days.  

Please therefore do not arrive at a building expecting to be able to access the space, if this hasn’t been arranged in advance and you aren’t clear which desk you are allocated. 

Scottish schools will retain most mitigations when they re-open, in line with advice from the government’s expert advisory subgroup. 

This means that for up to six weeks – subject then to review – there will be a continued requirement for staff to physically distance from each other and from children and young people while on the school estate.  Enhanced cleaning arrangements will remain in place. 

Face coverings will be retained for staff and children aged 12 and over on school transport, during lessons and inside school buildings. 

New guidance is being issued by the Scottish Government that includes more detail on ventilation. Much of this guidance is in keeping with arrangements already in place in our city schools, although the use of CO2 monitors will now extend to our Funded Providers of ELC.   

The approach of requiring whole classes or groupings of pupils to self-isolate will no longer be followed in normal circumstances.  Schools will be asked to send a “warn and inform” letter to staff, parents/carers and young people in relevant classes or year groups with only those who are identified by the index case as having significant contact advised to isolate and book a test.  Asymptomatic children and young people who return a negative PCR test will be able to return to school.  This policy change will enable schools to relax some of the current constraints around, ‘bubbles’. 

We will be back in touch early next week with further information.