Walsall in lockdown: 'Act now to stop cases spiralling'
Walsall needs to get the coronavirus infection rate down as a matter of urgency to prevent an "even more severe" wave of Covid-19 taking hold of the community.
Leader of Walsall Council Mike Bird made the plea the day a second national lockdown came into force.
He said residents needed to "act now" as case numbers were on the rise across the whole of the Black Country.
"While I know that the announcement will have been a blow for many, please remember: we have done this before and we can do it again," he said.
"We need to act now to get the infection rate down and prevent a second wave of the virus which, if allowed to take hold, is predicted to be even more severe than the first.
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"For Walsall, this means that the tighter restrictions implemented last month have become tighter still.
"I cannot stress enough: Covid-19 moves from person to person—if we greatly reduce our social contact, the spread of the virus will slow.
"You must stay home unless you need to go out for certain specific reasons outlined by the government.
"I know it may feel like we are back at square one, but we aren’t. An immense amount of work has been underway nationally and locally since the pandemic began to understand how more services can be maintained safely during an outbreak."
Both Walsall’s household waste and recycling centres will remain open with safety measures in place during lockdown.
Parks, green spaces, community allotments, children’s play areas and cemetery grounds will also remain open for residents to visit and use.
Councillor Bird added: "At this stage, the current national restrictions are to be in place until Wednesday, December 2. Many residents will be understandably disappointed that this means even greater limitations on how upcoming Bonfire Night, Remembrance Day, Diwali and Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurpurab can be celebrated or observed.
"The aim of the next four weeks is to break the chain of transmission—to save lives and protect the NHS, and get our infection rates down to levels that will permit businesses to reopen and families to be together safely during the Christmas period."
