Following yesterday's announcement by the Prime Minister, the Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire Council areas have moved to the new Tier 4.
Commenting on the news, Richard said: "Both Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire have been included in the new Tier Four. This is frustrating and, in many cases, despairing news for residents. Many have contacted me to convey their feelings about plans being disrupted at such a late stage.
Having sat in on a conference call yesterday evening with the Secretary of State and the Public Heath England team, I am now better briefed and, despite my strong scepticism, more understanding of the rationale for the changes.
The rationale essentially comprises the following facts:
- A new variant of the COVID virus has been identified
- This variant is more contagious than other variants of the virus
- This variant incorporates significantly more changes to the base virus than have other variants so far
- There is no evidence yet that this mutation is more lethal than other variants of the virus
- There is no evidence yet that the vaccines developed so far would be any less effective against this variant of the virus
- The variant was identified first in Kent but has spread to London and to parts of East Anglia.
Questions were raised regarding the time taken from the date when the variant was first identified until the announcement yesterday of further restrictions. There was a robustness and detail to the explanation provided comprising dates and details that accounted for the time from identification to building a link to transmission and from that to determine causality rather than correlation. On this point however, I think there will need to be more public explanation because many people are, quite understandably furious at the impact of these changes on their plans
As you may know, I have been sceptical about the use of enforced restrictions and lockdowns so it was helpful to take part in this grilling of the medical advisors. Having listened to the dialogue, I came away less sceptical and, sadly, more understanding of the change in restrictions, though this general use of extensive restrictive powers in pursuit of a single public health goal should, ultimately, be part of a much wider public debate.
If you have experienced difficulties arising from these changes, please do email me at [email protected] and I will see what I can do to assist."
Full details of the Tier 4 restrictions are set out here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home
