From the Editor: If we can’t avoid restrictions then give us clarity at least

There is an impending sense of doom and it is made considerably worse by rising infection figures and no action.

We are certain that lockdown restrictions are coming – even though they don’t appear to be making a difference elsewhere – so why aren’t they here yet?

You might wonder how we have got to this stage without local leaders being fully briefed about what is coming our way. There have been numerous meetings with central government over this crisis but things are no clearer.

I am constantly asked what will happen and what lockdown will look like for Sheffield. Will it cover everyone with an S postcode? Will it stop at the Yorkshire border? Does it mean no more pubs, no mixing in bubbles, no more rule of six … there are a million questions and absolutely no answers.

We have a cataclysmic problem that Sheffielders don’t feel they are being kept in the dark through some dastardly plan but because – far worse – there is no plan.

Trust is gone and confidence disappeared long ago. In fact, the only thing thriving is coronavirus.

Last week our city shot up the danger list from a relatively comfortable spot to one of the worst in the country and top of the tree in Yorkshire. Not an enviable position but here we are and we need to know what to do.

I hoped guidance would alter over the weekend but as I write on Sunday night, there is no change in anything other than the number of people in our city who have tested positive for Covid and a growing sense of dread.

Our changing fortunes were entirely predictable. When 60,000 students were encouraged back, what else could happen other than areas such as Endcliffe and Ranmoor suddenly becoming hotspots?

Students are part of our city and their campuses are our neighbourhoods. The north south divide has never been more painful as we wait for Westminster.

We need local support, local powers and local experts to be heeded. Most of all we need leadership which doesn’t fill our hearts fill with distrust, proactive not reactive actions and confidence that somebody out there has a plan.