Statement by Mayor Ros Jones, 21.10.20
South Yorkshire to be escalated to Tier 3 Coronavirus level
“Today’s announcement by the Government that South Yorkshire is to be escalated into the highest tier of the Coronavirus level to Very High or Tier 3 is one that will cause concern for people in Doncaster. It is news that no one wanted to hear but there is an undeniable truth in that our infection rates are spiralling upwards and are more than 260/100,000 and continuing to rise. I appreciate that being in this highest tier is not where we want to be as a borough and people have been working hard to keep our infection rates down and made a lot of sacrifices over the last few months. But we, like the rest of South Yorkshire, are in this category, for a reason – the infection rates are not going down or even levelling off.
“Very High Tier 3 will mean tighter restrictions for the borough and we must all collectively do our bit to get the infection rate down. I, along with other South Yorkshire leaders and the Sheffield City Region Mayor, have met with the Government to agree a package of financial support to boost the test and trace activity in our region and for local businesses to support them if they cannot trade. Although, I accepted the need to go into restrictions collectively to stem the rise in infections, I argued successfully to ensure that local councils could individually come out of restrictions, if they met the necessary levels at the end of the four week period when the tier category will be reviewed. I do want Doncaster to come out of this sooner rather than later so it is imperative we all work together to protect ourselves, our loved ones, our communities and the NHS. Equally I was keen to keep leisure centres and gyms open so that our residents are able to stay healthy.
“I would strongly urge everyone in the borough, whatever age, to follow the guidance to the letter to get us out of these stricter measures quicker – without your help, we cannot achieve this – so please Let’s Do it for Doncaster – together. Thank you.”
Footnote
Read full article doncaster.gov.uk
