Outbreak Management Advisory Board

24 February 2022

Communications Update – written report

Author: Mike James, Team Leader Marketing and Customers

In line with the national narrative on the Covid-19 response, we have moved our communications away from the ‘emergency’ response - put in place with the emergence of the Omicron variant - to embed key messages into our business as usual communications.

There are a number of key themes, which we continue to promote, to support North Yorkshire through the next stage of the pandemic.  This includes:

· sharing NHS-led material about vaccines to maximise the audience reach of this material;

· information about testing and isolation, which still form part of the overall response to the pandemic;

· highlighting community support available for those isolating, such as support payments and how to access voluntary help.

We know from website data that isolation rules and guidance remain a key area for our residents, so proactive information about this is included in the set of messages we are now using across all our communication channels.

This material is presented under the ‘Team North Yorkshire’ brand, to make it look and feel different from the emergency planning material we put in place in response to the Omicron variant.  This supports our underlying narrative about the pandemic response being helped by people in communities supporting each other.

We use this material in a number of different ways.  This includes being used across the digital channels we own (social media, website) and through other publications such as the NY Now newsletter.  For the County Council, material is shared through staff communication channels, as the vast majority of colleagues are also residents of the county.

As the public health authority, North Yorkshire County Council has led on the creation of this latest set of material but the council continues to work closely with all LRF partners – including district and borough councils – and the material has been jointly branded and given to these partners to use on their own communication channels.

For schools, updated information around isolation periods has been shared via Public Health’s Q&As and discussions, including webinar support, supported by some further vaccination support communications during January.

At this stage there are no plans to put in place any wider community messaging campaigns.  The existing Respect and Protect campaign material will remain in place for a few more weeks.  We will continue to keep the situation under review and can step-up the communications response if required.

For any follow-up questions, please contact Mike James: michael.james@northyorks.gov.uk.