Cookham's Elizabeth House to continue supporting members despite lockdown closure

A Cookham day centre for independent older residents in the village will continue to serve its members despite shutting its doors during lockdown.

Following the initial lockdown, Elizabeth House, which has about 70 senior members, had been successfully operating in a COVID-safe way for the last eight weeks.

However, following the announcement of a second lockdown, which began on Thursday, the centre has shut its doors and will not be reopened to the public until lockdown comes to an end.

Despite being closed, the centre will continue to support its members with weekly friendly phone calls. Phone lines will remain open and emails will be responded to during lockdown so members are not left out in the cold.

Chris Harris, chair of Elizabeth House trustee board, said: “Government guidelines are not clear cut but our duty of care for the health and safety of our members, volunteers and staff, plus the awareness that COVID-19 infections are accelerating in the community, meant we had no alternative but to close down.

“We will continue to provide whatever assistance to (members) we can to meet their needs. 

“All emails and phone calls to Elizabeth House will be responded to during lockdown. 

“It is our current intention to reopen Elizabeth House again on Thursday, December 3rd subject to any revised government guidance.”