The decision to keep Staffordshire in Tier 3 of coronavirus restrictions is “bitterly disappointing”, the county council’s leader has said.
The Government confirmed that there would be no change to the current measures for Lichfield and Burntwood.
Cllr Alan White, leader of Staffordshire County Council and a member of Lichfield District Council, said it was now more important than ever that people followed the rules.
“While it is bitterly disappointing for this county to still face the toughest restrictions, today’s confirmation was not unexpected as we have seen cases start to creep up once again.
“The start of the roll out of both the vaccine and of our targeted community testing programme, for people without symptoms in identified Covid hotspots, promise to protect more people and break the chain of infection.
“However, we it will be many months before the full benefits are known. It is therefore important that we all stick to the rules if we are to protect more lives and livelihoods in the coming months and persuade Government to ease the restrictions placed on Staffordshire.”
Cllr Alan White, Staffordshire County Council
The average seven-day infection rate across the county is currently 212.4 per 100,000 people, higher than the West Midlands rate of 185.3, but now lower than the England-wide rate of 216.8.
The leader of Lichfield District Council, Cllr Doug Pullen, said it was now important that support reached those hit hardest by the ongoing restrictions.
“I’ll continue to lobby for more support for affected industries, as well as implementing any support measures appropriate here in Lichfield district.”
Cllr Doug Pullen, Lichfield District Council
