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Dear resident,
The rate of Covid-19 in Lambeth and in London is rising. Since September, we’ve seen an increase in the prevalence of the disease at the same time as there have been major difficulties for people trying to access tests.
The lack of testing won’t come as a surprise to the many Lambeth residents who have tried and failed to access it but the failure of the national testing and track and trace system is an outrage and the government need to get a grip of it. That is the message that I and other council leaders, alongside the Mayor of London delivered this week to government, and we will continue to push for the necessary improvements.
As we saw earlier this year, once the virus starts to spread, particularly in a city like London, it can quickly become out of control so we need to do everything we can to prevent the spread of the virus. That means avoiding unnecessary risk of spreading.
The government has announced additional measures – a curfew on pubs, restaurants and other hospitality businesses; enforcement of the rule of six and table service only in hospitality businesses; a change in advice to encourage people to work from home if they can; a reduction in the numbers of people who can attend weddings from 30 to 15; no go ahead with large sporting and other events at this moment in time; and increased penalties for those who do not comply with the limits on gatherings over six.
The measures aim to reduce the spread of the virus – but further restrictions may come if they are not successful. We support these measures – though we don’t believe they go far enough. We all need to stick to them, and to exercise caution so that we can stop the rise in cases and prevent a fuller, second lockdown over the winter which would be very difficult for all of us.
I urge you to stick to this guidance and follow the public health advice.
HANDS - Wash your hands regularly and for 20 seconds.
FACE - Wear a face covering in indoor settings where social distancing may be difficult, and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet.
SPACE - Stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place (such as wearing face coverings or increasing ventilation indoors).
We also need the government to increase the amount of money to support the low paid in self-isolating; support councils to lead the track and trace programme; extend the furlough scheme to save jobs and further support for businesses who will have to cut back their reopening plans to protect us from the virus. Those are the points I and other London leaders have made to government this week, and we will keep fighting for the best possible support for you and your family at this worrying time.
Stay safe,
Cllr Jack Hopkins
Leader of Lambeth Council
P.S Read more about the new measures to control the virus on GOV.UK.
You can find the latest data about Covid-19 in Lambeth on our website, as well as information on support that's available to you.
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