Coronavirus: Shropshire Council vows to support residents and businesses during new lockdown

Shropshire Council has vowed to support residents and businesses after the Government announced a new four-week national Lockdown to help curb the spread of coronavirus.

The Lockdown comes into force on Thursday 5 November for four weeks, until Wednesday 2 December 2020.

Shropshire’s current 7-day infection rate, of 135.5 per 100,000 of the population, demonstrates how rapidly the situation has escalated and why action must be taken now. To put this in context, 7 days earlier Shropshire’s rate was 86.7 per 100,000 of the population.

From Thursday 5 November 2020 new lockdown restrictions for Shropshire will mean everyone must Stay at Home and may leave only for a limited set of reasons. These include:

• For education (schools, colleges and universities)
• For work, if you cannot work from home;
• For exercise and recreation outdoors, with your household, support bubble, or on your own with one person from another household;
• For all medical reasons or medical appointments, and to escape injury or harm;
• To shop for food and essentials;
• And to provide care for vulnerable people.

Other measures include:

• You must not meet socially indoors with family or friends unless they are part of your household – meaning the people you live with – or support bubble.
• Individuals can meet one other person from another household outside in a public place.
• Pubs, bars and restaurants will close, although they will be able to offer takeaway and delivery services.
• Non-essential retail, hairdressers, and leisure and entertainment venues will all close.
• Funerals can be attended by a maximum of 30 people, and it is advised that only close friends and family attend.
• Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies will not be permitted to take place, except in exceptional circumstances.
• Places of worship will close, unless they are being used for funerals, to broadcast acts of worship, for individual prayer, formal childcare, or essential services such as blood donation or food banks.
• Manufacturing and construction workplaces can remain open.

Peter Nutting, Leader of Shropshire Council, said:

“I would like to thank Shropshire residents for their continued commitment in helping to curb the spread of the virus. Without their efforts, we would have seen even more cases and lives lost.

“Whilst infection rates in Shropshire remain lower than in many parts of the country, we have still experienced a rising number of positive cases in recent weeks, particularly among over 60s.

“I realise there will be a lot of frustration and anxiety around a further national lockdown. Whilst this is undoubtedly a worrying time, I want to reassure residents that Shropshire Council is here for them. We will be Stepping Up once again to support all our communities – including our vulnerable residents. We will also ensure that support is available for our businesses.

“There is a lot of information to digest and we are awaiting more details from the Government.

“We are ready to help. Our Shropshire Council COVID-19 Helpline – ‪0345 678 9028  – remains open for anyone that needs additional support.

“Our residents and businesses have made many sacrifices to try to control this virus. It has been a tough few months, but Shropshire is a resilient county. I know we will get through this together.”

Rachel Robinson, Shropshire Council’s director of public health, said:

“I know everyone has made huge efforts so far in helping to curb the spread of coronavirus, and I want to thank everyone. Sadly, Shropshire has been following the national trend when it comes to a sharp rise in cases.

“Over the past three weeks we have not only seen a continued rise in cases across Shropshire, but increasing evidence of the spread of the virus beyond people in their 20s to older and potentially more vulnerable age groups. We have seen a 72% increase in rates in our over 60s population, allied to a 55% increase in our total population over the last 7 days.

“We know that transmission of the virus is happening in every area of the county, across all age groups, and takes place largely as a result of inter-household mixing. The Government’s preventative measures, coupled with the continued efforts of Shropshire residents, will hopefully stop the situation from escalating further and protect our most vulnerable residents.

“People are understandably going to be anxious. It’s important that people look after their mental health and wellbeing, and local support is available for people who need it. A full list of resources and contacts are available on our website.

“If together we do the right thing by following these measures, we can curb the spread of the virus and not only protect ourselves but our loved ones too.”