West Yorkshire Prepared: ‘We’ve made good progress – let’s keep going’

As West Yorkshire, once again, enters the highest tier of restrictions, the region’s Local Resilience Forum is reminding everyone of the good progress already made in reducing the spread of infection – but highlights there is still more to be done to bring COVID-19 rates down.

From today (Wednesday 2 December) all of West Yorkshire will be required to follow new restrictions under ‘Tier 3 – very high alert level’.

Robin Tuddenham, co-Chair of West Yorkshire Prepared and Chief Executive of Calderdale Council, said: “We understand this will be extremely disappointing and upsetting news for many people. While the situation is improving, with rates levelling or falling in most areas, case rates in those aged 60 and over are still extremely high.

“There also continues to be immense pressure on our hospitals. Although the number of people being admitted to hospital with COVID-19 is stabilising, there are still a large number of people in beds and this, coupled with staffing shortages due to sickness or staff having to isolate, is having an impact.”

Under the new restrictions, people in West Yorkshire should observe the following restrictions:

• You must not socialise with anybody outside your household/support bubble in any indoor setting, in a private garden or at most outdoor public venues.
• You must follow the rule of six when seeing friends and family, who are not part of your household/support bubble, in outdoor settings such as parks/playgrounds, public gardens or the countryside.
• You should not travel outside the Tier 3 area, other than for essential services (work, education, youth services, caring responsibilities) and should not stay overnight in another part of England.
• All pubs and bars must close.

Full details of the regulations in each Tier can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/local-restriction-tiers-what-you-need-to-know. Local business owners, affected by the latest restrictions, should contact their Local Authorities for details on support measures in place.

Dave Walton, co-Chair of West Yorkshire Prepared and Deputy Chief of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The good news is that numbers of COVID-19 cases are starting to fall in West Yorkshire across all age ranges, so the efforts we have all put in over the last four weeks during national lockdown have had a really positive effect. We want to thank everyone who is playing their part in helping to reduce the spread of infection.

“We now need to continue applying that same effort to bring those rates down even further, and hopefully move the region into a lower tier. We can only do this by all working together, following the guidance and pulling in the same direction.”

There will be a review of the Tiers on 16 December to determine whether regions need to change to a different alert level. Restrictions will be relaxed from 23 December to 27 December (inclusive) to allow families to be together over the Christmas period. People from no more than three households will be able to form an exclusive ‘Christmas bubble’, and you will be allowed to travel between tiers and UK nations to meet up with that bubble.

However, it is essential that everyone continues to take personal responsibility for their actions and remembers the simple, but vital, steps we can take to protect ourselves and each other:

• At all times maintain social distancing from people you do not live with or who aren’t in your support bubble. You do not need to socially distance from someone you’re in an established relationship with.
• Wear a face covering (unless exempt) over your nose and mouth in public places and where you can’t effectively social distance from others.
• Continue to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water regularly throughout the day. Hand sanitiser can be used when soap and water is not available.
• If you develop symptoms, receive a positive test result or are advised to do so by Test and Trace, you must isolate.

To keep up to date with West Yorkshire Prepared, please follow us on Facebook (@WYPrepared) or Twitter (@WYRForum).

For reliable, up to date information on COVID-19, please visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus or www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.