As I write this column, the Government has announced new national restrictions in England. The Prime Minister will set out his plans to Parliament and on Wednesday, Parliament will have the opportunity to debate and vote on these measures which, if passed, will come into force on Thursday.
Together with Councillor Sybil Ralphs and our local county councillors, I have been focused over the last few days and weeks on this issue. Cases in the Moorlands have been increasing and the priority must be on protecting everyone’s health and ensuring that our hospitals can cope.
We had hoped we could manage the situation with our regional system of alert levels, and allow as many people to live as normal a life as possible. That’s because a national lockdown is not cost-free - not only in terms of jobs, businesses, and livelihoods, but also the impact on mental health and loneliness.
This is why we have been so determined to try and avoid another national lockdown. But the situation has significantly deteriorated and if passed, these new restrictions will apply nationally for four weeks up to Wednesday 2 December, and will override the current Local Alert Level restrictions.
Nobody should underestimate the impact that these restrictions will have on local businesses and jobs, but if we can all comply with the rules and demonstrate that new infections are reducing, we can hopefully move back into the Tier 2 system on the 2 December, when the Government will seek to ease restrictions, on a local and regional basis, according to the latest data.
What happens next depends on each and every one of us. I therefore appeal to everyone in Staffordshire Moorlands to follow the rules to protect the NHS and save lives.
