Minister Linares’ Statement - Thursday COVID-19 Briefing
Here’s the full text of Minister Linares’ statement at this afternoon’s COVID-19 briefing:
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
I want to inform you about some of the work done in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in the areas of my ministerial responsibility.
Housing
I will start with Housing.
The Housing Department has worked tirelessly to reduce the impact of COVID-19 outbreak conditions on Housing Department workforce and customers.
We have tried to address all probable scenarios.
We have implemented all possible contingencies.
The aim is to continue providing our customers with a highly efficient service, whilst protecting our workforce and ensuring prioritizing of tasks and cross training, were necessary, to perform all functions with limited resources.
Our services are ongoing via telephone, e-mail and online facilities through the e-gov website.
The reporting office has continued to support all our tenants in adapting their priorities to ensure that the critical services such as emergency work requests are delivered.
More than 1000 calls have been made to tenants and the department is happy to report that this has been a very fruitful exercise.
Step-by-step instructions have been issued to all our tenants to facilitate payments through the online platform.
The department is also liaising with the banks to introduce new facilities for the payment of rent such as through Direct Debit.
We are also assisting our tenants with the opening of bank accounts.
The arrears team has been very diligent in continuing their operations to ensure tenants to do not fall further into arrears and to assist them as much as possible should they encounter financial hardship during this time.
The Senior Management Team has liaised with our Tenants Associations to provide support.
We have been able to convene the relevant meetings using virtual platforms.
Other weekly meetings with tenants and third parties are still ongoing via conference call.
This takes social distancing requirements into account.
The department together with the Housing Works Agency have been actively trying to curtail the spread of COVID-19 to Senior Citizens.
Our efforts have concentrated mainly in our pensioner accommodation.
This is where many of the most vulnerable in our society are located.
The assistance to senior citizen accommodation includes:
- providing the daily delivery of the Gibraltar Chronicle and the Panorama;
- the installation/maintenance of hand sanitisers,
- the daily removal and disposal of household refuse from outside the flats,
- daily cleaning of all common areas such as lifts, handrails and door handles,
- the delivery of GADS food within the blocks, and
- the restriction of visitors to the blocks.
The Housing Works Agency has also given assistance to the Nightingale Hospital by providing the flooring and the bed dividers.
We continue to take precautions by:
- Restricting visits only for essential reasons and preferably for these to be conducted at a social distance from outside the flat;
- All social gatherings such as bingos and yoga have been cancelled.
We are in constant communication with the elderly in these flats.
My office has been calling them regularly to make sure that their needs are addressed.
We also provide them with any documents required by other parts of the public service.
Anything delivered to the elderly is now sanitised.
There were two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our Pensioner Flats.
Both are now fully recovered.
The department has been working closely with the Gibraltar Health Authority to allow them to provide the maximum number of beds.
We have also worked with the Care Agency in the relocation of tenants when required.
We have worked with the Ministry of Equality too.
The Housing Department would like to remind all tenants of all our estates to practice good hygiene.
It is important to follow the guidelines being issued daily by the Civil Contingency Office.
A programme to disinfect Housing Estates has been coordinated and rolled out together with the Ministry of Environment.
We understand that the precautionary measures being taken will place a strain on families and friends.
Tenants are eager to preserve contact with their loved ones.
But at this time we are also increasingly concerned about their wellbeing.
We are following expert advice regarding the matter at hand.
There are other ways to stay in touch without putting anyone at risk.
I know that many of you are keeping in touch by telephone, video conferencing and through social media platforms.
The staff at my office have also been calling all tenants over the age of 70 in all our housing estates.
We want to make sure that they do not feel disconnected or isolated and to check whether they need anything.
We would like to thank all our tenants for their patience during this very difficult time.
I am also the Minister for the Technical Services Department.
Both our Highways and Infrastructure Sections are fully resilient to deal with all emergencies and with essential maintenance which may arise during this time.
There are also on-call crews on stand-by.
Their role is to deal with any emergencies on a 24 hour basis seven days a week.
Our Engineering and Design Section continues to work on essential Government projects.
This has included the preparation of the drive through sampling facility at Rooke which is now fully operational.
In addition our Geographical and Information System co-coordinator is working closely with the COVID Civil Contingency team to develop GPS maps of Gibraltar.
These maps will include the addresses of our elderly and vulnerable.
They will be used to assist with the ongoing efforts to protect and help those individuals.
Technical Services has also released members of staff to other Government Departments to assist with more critical matters during these difficult times.
Gibraltar Sports and Leisure Authority
I will now say a few words about the Sports and Leisure Authority.
Since the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic, the Bayside Sport Complex and the GSLA Swimming Pool have both been closed.
They are now part of the Civil Contingencies’ plan and the wider Covid19 strategy.
The staff at GSLA have been very busy in various areas assisting Civil Contingencies making sure facilities are ready and up and running when required.
Some members of the team are working from home.
This ensures that administrative tasks continue on a daily basis.
Others attend their workstations to process essential documentation when needed.
Facilities are also inspected on a daily basis to ensure that all is well.
The majority of the staff complement have been redeployed to different places.
Eleven undertook initial training and have now spent the better part of five weeks in the different Hospital Call Centres.
They are working shifts, operating telephone lines and dealing with queries from the general public.
Six others are part of the team that is delivering goods and supplies to those over 70 and to those vulnerable members of the community.
Some staff members are working from the Training Centre undertaking other key roles.
The GSLA’s facilities staff have played an integral part in setting up a temporary hostel at the Garrison Gymnasium.
This was converted in conjunction, with Europa FC, the Royal Gibraltar Police and the Social Services Department.
Others have donated meals.
A team led by the Sports Development Unit is on standby to assist teachers in providing the children of essential workers with a varied set of activities.
Given that the number of children attending schools is relatively low, this same team has for the last few weeks provided structured physical activity to those vulnerable children in care.
These activities have provided a much needed outlet from the lockdown measures for those children.
The feedback has been so positive that initial discussions have already taken place about continuing these activities in some manner when normality returns.
The Sports Development Team, in conjunction with the Physical Activities Association for Mature Older Adults and GBC, have recorded a series of exercise sessions for seniors.
These can be practiced in the comfort of their own homes.
These new sessions are already available on GBC on a daily basis.
Filming of further videos will take place next week.
These will primarily be aimed at seniors over 70, who might struggle with the sessions already on offer.
GSLA have also been involved in manning the entrances to the four main pensioner estates and assisting with the delivery of goods to the tenants residing within those blocks.
Finally, in relation to the GSLA, the staff may also be deployed during the “Golden Hour” in order to assist the elderly.
King’s Bastion Leisure Centre
The entirety of the King’s Bastion Leisure Centre has been closed since the Covid pandemic was announced.
The administration staff are currently working from home.
Other employees of KBLC have been deployed to assist at the Field Hospital and in other Covid related projects.
Youth Service
The Gibraltar Youth Service during this difficult Covid period have continued to undertake their daily activities via the online platform “Zoom” offering Virtual Youth Work to young people in our community.
All youth club activities, such as the Joyful Riot Choir, the LGBTQ+ group and the Mingle, (a specialist project for young adults with mild learning difficulties ages 18-30) have taken the opportunity to use this virtual platform to continue their communication with existing and prospective members.
I personally met with a group of young people during a virtual session recently where all those virtually connected shared their experiences of being in lockdown.
Zoom Virtual Youth Work will continue as a way of keeping in touch with young people in the community.
If you want more information on this it can be found on www.youth.gi
The Youth Service is also supporting the Care Agency.
Laguna, Dolphins and Plater Youth Clubs have been opened to accommodate a resting and meeting place for all residential care workers who support the elderly and vulnerable in our community.
Various experienced youth workers have also been deployed to assist with vulnerable children and those displaying challenging behaviour.
The Youth Service has purchased 6 computer tablets for some of their service users who do not have access to one during this crisis.
This will assist them in joining the virtual youth activity on offer.
It will also allow them to follow any educational links provided by the Department of Education.
In addition, these service users will benefit from the Civil Contingency Office’s tablet donation appeal.
I would like to thank Medicare (Gib) for the 24 IPads and 9 Samsung Tablets.
Gibtelecom -for 20 IPad Minis.
An Anonymous donor – for 2 IPads.
And Gadget Station for the ten heavy duty Ipad covers.
I would like to take this opportunity of thanking all members of my Ministry and the relevant departments I am responsible for, whether working from their workstation or working from home for their continuous support and providing an excellent service throughout, as always, especially during these difficult times.
You have all worked tirelessly and under pressure and have acted in a positive, proactive and professional manner. For this, I am truly proud and grateful.
Thank you.
