'Let's get on top of this’ - MPs implore North East Derbyshire residents to 'work together' as district moves to Tier 2 HIGH

North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield will be raised from Tier 1 to Tier 2 ‘high’ from 12.01am this Saturday after a surge in new cases, it was announced in the House of Commons this morning.

The district is currently under medium level restrictions, as part of the first tier of the new lockdown traffic light system, which subjects people to the rule of six, mixing with other households indoors and outdoors while maintaining social distancing and allows pubs and restaurants to be open.

But this new ‘high’ level lockdown will forbid residents from mixing with other households in any indoor settings, such as in people’s homes or in pubs or restaurants.

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, said the ‘last thing’ local politicians wanted was for residents and businesses to face more challenges.

“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,” he added.

Councillor 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.”

And Councillor Barry Lewis, leader of Derbyshire County Council, said: “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.”

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