Council Leader urges to be careful this Christmas to avoid a New Year lockdown
Friday, 11 December 2020
Worryingly, after several weeks of COVID-19 cases falling in Central Bedfordshire, this week there has been a sharp rise with 350 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of 125 from the previous week.
In a message to local residents, the Leader of Central Bedfordshire Council, Councillor James Jamieson, said:
As we approach the holiday period, a time to share festive cheer with our loved ones, we all need to take extra care to control the virus. We are currently in Tier 2 which means shops, restaurants, gyms, places of worship are all back open, which is great news for our local businesses and residents alike. However, coronavirus is still here, people are still going into hospital and sadly, people are still dying.
Every single one of us has a part to play in keeping us all safe during the winter break and avoid further increases in cases. If cases continue to rise, there is the prospect of further restrictions in the New Year.
We are all well versed in the three golden rules; Hands, Face and Space: we really must continue to stick with them.
Councillor Jamieson continued:
Everyone is preparing for Christmas. This may not be the Christmas we had planned, but it is really important that it is different. It’s OK to say: “not this year”. Increasing social contact with others increases the risk of spreading the virus. The safest thing to do is to stay at home and limit contact with others.
If you are having people over to your home during Christmas, there are things you can do to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Limiting time indoors with others is the first thing; maybe you only meet for a short while instead of all day. Opening a window and letting air circulate can help, as well as avoiding sharing things and no hugs or kisses.
It will be tough this Christmas, but with vaccines offering a light at the end of the tunnel, we all need to continue doing the right thing for a while longer.