Chairperson Supports Distance Awareness Campaign

The Chairperson of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, Councillor Laura Devlin has pledged her support to the new COVID-19 Department of Health campaign to help promote distance awareness. The campaign uses a consistent and instantly recognisable symbol, the Distance Aware Shield to help remind people to maintain a social distance.

Councillor Devlin said, “I welcome this initiative which provides a polite visual reminder to those we meet to respect our space. The introduction of the Distance Aware Shield in Northern Ireland comes at a critical time for us all. The progress we have achieved to date in our vaccination programme is very welcome, but we cannot allow complacency to creep in. It remains as important as ever to follow the public health advice – this includes washing our hands, wearing a face covering and keeping our distance. The badges and posters will be a helpful prompt to maintain distance.

She continued, “Fellow Councillors are also supporting this campaign and I am encouraging organisations and individuals in our district to support the campaign by wearing a badge or displaying a poster with the Distance Aware Shield.”

The campaign is being promoted through community pharmacies, GP surgeries, Health and Social Care Trusts, and in the voluntary and community sector through the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA). Northern Ireland sporting bodies and supermarket retailer Asda are also backing the campaign. Distance Aware badges are available from information points in all Asda stores.

The badge can be worn by anyone to signify that they wish to maintain social distancing. There is a particular focus on distributing the campaign badge to those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and those who work with vulnerable people, including carers, and health and social care workers.

For further information please visit: www.nidirect.gov.uk/covid-19-distance-aware.