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A sobering warning has been issued to the people of Nottingham ahead of the imminent local shutdown as concerns arise about the government waiting until next week to impose restrictions.
Councilor David Mellen, Nottingham City Council Leader, said “We are very concerned about the possible implications of the Government not imposing additional restrictions until next week” after a huge increase in cases locally.
He has issued a stern warning before this weekend: “People might think this is the last chance before Christmas, let’s go out and party, and we can’t have that.”
He added: “All we can do is urge people to do the sensible thing and stay home.
“This deadly virus is now widespread in our city and you are putting yourself and others at risk unless you take this seriously and follow strict guidelines in place.”
The city’s public health chiefs say cases have ‘increased dramatically’ in recent weeks, raising serious concerns as more and more Covid-19 patients are admitted to hospital.
Nottingham is now the fourth highest area in terms of infection rate, with cases skyrocketing to around 1,600 last week, compared to just 300 the previous week.
A document leaked to Nottinghamshire Live suggested that the Government will not impose stricter restrictions this week, as previously thought, and will instead be officially announced on Monday before it takes effect from Wednesday October 14.
Councilor Mellen said: “Given the extremely worrying increase in cases, with Nottingham now having the fourth highest rate of infection in the country, we were working to impose new government restrictions this week.
“While we are already urging local residents to stay in their social bubbles and not mingle with anyone outside their homes, we are very concerned about the possible implications of the government not imposing additional restrictions until next week.
“It seems that we are victims of a change in the Government’s approach and, therefore, although we have very high figures that we have known from the beginning of the week, we have to wait until next week for the Government to introduce what we expect are new restrictions in Nottingham.
“We need the government to act urgently and decisively or, better still, to give us the powers that allow us to move forward with the action ourselves.
“It unnecessarily places a large burden on our local resources to manage the clear potential that people will decide to go out and socialize one last time this weekend before local measures are introduced, which risks making a bad situation worse in terms of infection rates “.
Now the Government is expected to detail its traffic light plan as of Monday, with the execution of its plans by Wednesday.
These plans appear to cover the whole of Nottinghamshire as coronavirus cases spread across all areas, but Mansfield surpasses the Government’s watchlist threshold of 80 cases per 100,000 people.
Nottingham’s infection rate is now nearly 500 per 100,000 people.
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The city council said it will continue to deploy its 100 Community Protection Officers as it has since the national shutdown ended, providing a reassuring visible presence that also helps deter people who break the rules, with an advisory focus. and interact with people to encourage compliance. with Covid guidance
City Public Health Director Alison Challenger said: “Our latest surveillance report released today shows that last week the number of cases in the city soared to 1,600 from just under 300 the week before.
“That is a dramatic increase, even taking into account any flaws in the data, and it is very clear that stricter measures are needed.
“We need the local population to continue to abide by the existing rules, as they have overwhelmingly done so far.
“That means washing your hands thoroughly and regularly, covering your face when you go out, and maintaining social distancing, including observing the Rule of Six.
“Furthermore, we have said that due to the worrying increase in local positive cases and infections, everyone should rigidly stick to their social bubbles and not mix with other households.
“There is no need to wait for additional government restrictions; it is clear that infection rates are increasing, which means that we must do more than we have done so far in Nottingham to stop the spread of the virus.”
“We are seeing an increase in the admission of Covid patients to local hospitals, which is of great concern.”
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