Local MPs and Council leaders have responded to the announcement that both North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield are to be placed in the high tier (tier 2) of the covid alert system from midnight on Friday night / Saturday morning.
Lee Rowley, MP for North East Derbyshire, said: “As rates have climbed in our area, we have been in intensive discussions with local public health leaders in the last few days and it is clear that there is a significant increase in cases all across North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield. Given the quick increase, it was increasingly likely that additional restrictions would be proposed for our area and that has now resulted in us moving up a tier. Mark and myself, along with local Council leaders, all know that this will cause challenges for residents and our immediate focus now will be on helping to get on top of this outbreak so we can go back down a tier as soon as possible.”
Mark Fletcher, MP for Bolsover, commented: “The last thing we want is for more challenges to local people, businesses and the community in the parts of North East Derbyshire that I represent. Both Lee and I have had extensive meetings in recent days, and we will continue to meet with Ministers in Westminster to press the case about the support and help needed in North Derbyshire during this difficult time.”
Cllr Alex Dale, Leader of North East Derbyshire District Council, said: “None of us want to be in a place where additional restrictions are necessary, but we must pull together so that we can get on top of the virus in North East Derbyshire and reduce the number of cases. We all need to work together and follow the guidelines set out within the new high alert status so that we can get the number of cases down and have these tighter restrictions lifted again as soon as possible. Over the coming weeks we will continue to work closely with our local partners, including Parish and Town Councils, to support our residents and businesses through this challenging time and collectively do whatever we can to get Covid rates down.”
Cllr Barry Lewis, Leader of Derbyshire County Council, added: “Cases across Derbyshire are rising and a substantial proportion of our county will see additional restrictions in place from tomorrow night. As the organisation leading on public health in our county, we are continuing to build our local infrastructure, work closely with everyone involved and lead on the work to get the virus down across our communities. We would encourage everyone to do what they can to stop the spread of the virus in the coming days across North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield.”
