Dear residents, businesses and local communities
Preventing the spread of COVID-19 and saving East Riding lives: It’s in our hands!
Back in March, a week before we went into a
national lockdown, I wrote an open letter to the East Riding to assure you all
that East Riding of Yorkshire Council would do all it possibly could to support
local communities through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout the lockdown period, we continued
to collect and empty 50,000 bins a day, we provided vital care and support to
our most frail, elderly, poorly and vulnerable residents, we quickly processed
tens of millions of pounds-worth of grants and other payments to thousands of
businesses and we operated community response hubs with the HEY Smile
Foundation and other partners – helping those in need with deliveries of food,
medication and other support.
There were countless other ways the council
and its staff helped local residents, businesses and communities through the
first wave of COVID-19 and we have continued to support the East Riding as the
Government eased lockdown measures in the summer.
The East Riding has fared better than many
other areas, with generally much lower infection rates, hospital admissions and
loss of life. However, every loss has of course been a
personal tragedy to those affected and every hardship suffered by residents –
whether bereavement, physical or mental illness, financial, social or
emotional – is a cause for sorrow and regret. That
is why I am now writing another open letter to the East Riding, to urge
everyone to play your part in helping to avoid more loss and hardship.
Infection rates are still lower in the East
Riding than many places elsewhere but they are rising quickly and if
we don’t all act now, to take individual and collective action, then we will
all suffer the consequences in the weeks and months to come.
We are at a crucial time in the fight against
COVID-19. The next few weeks are going to be pivotal in determining what
happens with COVID-19 in the East Riding this autumn and winter.
Therefore the time is NOW to act by doing the
right thing when it comes to COVID-19 prevention.
Please keep following the 3
Steps To Safety: Prevent. Notice. Act. Keep doing the basic
things which we know helps to prevent the spread of this virus – handwashing,
social distancing, wearing a face covering where appropriate and if you’re not
exempt, quickly responding to symptoms by getting tested and self-isolated if
advised to. Nationally, a
staggering 80% of people are failing to self-isolate when they should be.
It’s really simple. If you have any COVID-19
symptoms, if you have been tested but are waiting for the result or if you have
tested positive, do NOT go out. Stay at home. Self-isolate. Do not mix with
other people from outside your household.
We are entering a new phase in this pandemic,
with more incidences of it spreading and neighbouring areas seeing major
increases. The next few weeks could see a surge in
numbers and we will only avoid that if all residents work together by doing
those basic things but most essentially by isolating themselves when they have
symptoms, have tested positive or are awaiting a test result.
I’m afraid we all need to make some personal
sacrifices right now, in various aspects of our daily life, if we are to keep
the East Riding as a safe place to live, work, shop, learn, play, invest and
visit.
We need to do the right thing now to protect
our most vulnerable residents – the people we love and cherish. Our vulnerable
family members, friends, colleagues and neighbours.
At this time of year, people are normally
starting to look forward to Christmas. This year Christmas will be very
different if we don’t all act now by doing the right thing. All of us need to reduce our individual risk
so that we are reducing the risk to our loved ones and the whole of the East
Riding – local communities, local businesses and local people.
We have shown throughout the spring and the
summer that the #TogetherEastRiding is strong and we need that to continue
more than ever.
For those people who are ignoring the risks,
who are going out even though you have symptoms or are waiting for test
results, who are forgetting to do the basics right, please stop and think about
what you are doing and the consequences your actions will bring for us
all.
Please follow the 3 Steps To Safety,
for your own health, for the sake of your loved ones and for everyone in the
East Riding. We all want to avoid another lockdown unless
absolutely necessary, we all want to avoid more hardship and we all want to
avoid more loss of life and personal tragedies.
Our future is in our hands. Please do the
right thing. Now.
On behalf of everyone at East Riding of
Yorkshire Council, thank you for your support and stay safe.
Cllr Richard Burton
Leader, East Riding of Yorkshire Council
No comments:
Post a Comment