Health chief says decision on local lockdown in Sheffield could be made TOMORROW

Greg Fell, Sheffield Council’s director of public health, said earlier this week it was a ‘matter of when, not if’ local restrictions are imposed, with an announcement possible before the week is out.

That was before the city’s weekly infection rate rose again on Tuesday afternoon to pass 300 cases per 100,000 people for the first time.

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There were 1,874 confirmed cases of Covid-19 recorded across Sheffield during the week to Saturday, October 3 – the latest date for which reliable figures are available – giving a weekly infection rate of 320.5 cases per 100,000 people.

Mr Fell has now urged people across the city to ‘act responsibly’ and be prepared for the need to self-isolate if necessary. Below is his statement in full.

“We have a robust strategy in place to support the city in dealing with any escalation in the number of Covid cases and are fully prepared for such an eventuality and the steps that will need to be taken to prevent any further spread.

"We will not know until later in the week what any new measures may look like, as this will rely on decisions from the Secretary of State which will be announced on Thursday. What we can control however, is our own behaviour.

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"Our request is that every person in Sheffield continues to act carefully to prevent further transmission of the virus in our communities. Only in respecting the measures in place to keep everyone as safe as possible and to prevent further spreading of the virus locally, will we be in a position to prevent further measures citywide.

“The statistics are unlikely at this point to go in the direction we would hope for, so we ask every resident to act responsibly and focus on your own behaviour.

"This includes rigorously self-isolating if you or your household has Covid symptoms, washing your hands regularly, social distancing with anyone outside your household/bubble, and wearing a face covering when in enclosed spaces.

"As we enter autumn and the approaching winter months, we are all likely to be indoors more often. We will have the regular diseases such as flu and colds in circulation as well as Covid.

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"It is important to be prepared so stocking up on medicines and food is a good way to make sure any isolation periods can be managed at home. Track and trace may require you to do so even if you do not have Covid symptoms, so preparation is necessary.

“As with the case numbers we are seeing nationally, we can see a correlation in the rise in cases with the return of students residing in university cities, such as Sheffield. This is more to do with a rise in cases amongst the age group of 18-30 rather than a student only issue.

"This is the time to reinforce supporting messaging to our younger residents. We continue to work closely with both universities and we know each has excellent welfare support in place to help and advise students whilst they isolate and to reinforce the recommendation to have a plan in place to stock up on supplies whilst they stay at home and to help them get a test if students have Covid symptoms.

“Until we know exactly what the Government will tell us later in the week, we urge everyone to keep doing the right thing. By playing your part we will help stem the spread to our older and more vulnerable residents.

"Thank you to all Sheffielders for sticking to the advice and guidance, we know and understand how difficult this is for everyone, but whilst this dangerous virus is still at large, we need to be prepared to stick to these measures for some time to come.”