‘Good news, but no time to rest on our laurels’: Council leaders respond to Colchester remaining in Tier 2 Covid-19 restrictions

Date issued: 15 December 2020

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Cory, and the group leaders of the Liberal Democrat, Labour, Conservative and Highwoods Independent groups, Cllr Martin Goss, Cllr Tina Bourne, Cllr Paul Dundas and Cllr Beverley Oxford, have issued the following joint statement:
 
The announcement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, yesterday (Monday) that Colchester will not be moved into Tier 3 like the vast amount of Essex from tomorrow has to be welcomed as good news.
 
This council has worked hard with partners and the public to keep the rates of this terrible virus as low as possible in Colchester, and these efforts are paying off. We currently have one of the lowest rates per 100,000 in Essex, but the rates are rising across all age ranges.
 
We have been working closely with the Your Colchester BID and other partners across the community to not only help push the key messages of personal hygiene and social distancing but make our high streets and venues as safe as possible for people to visit and enjoy.
 
However, you only have to look at the soaring rates in other parts of the county to see how quickly things can change and that now is not the time for us to be resting on our laurels.  We do not want to see the figures from the south of the county being replicated here.
 
Our joint message to the people of this fantastic borough is that we need you to continue to do everything you can to keep these rates down. Everyone knows how hard this year has been, but we cannot give up now.
 
The vaccines have started to be rolled out, giving some bright light at the end of a very dark tunnel. This, coupled with people following the national regulations, means that together we can tackle the virus and return to some sort of normality sooner rather than later.
 
We are grateful that, together with Uttlesford and Tendring, we have remained in Tier 2 following this latest review.
 
We need everyone across Colchester to continue playing their part in fighting back against this virus, to save this borough also moving into Tier 3 when they are next reviewed.
 
It is only by working together that we will beat it.