Thanks to the hard work and sacrifices of all of you, as well as our incredible NHS staff, volunteers, key workers, and record-breaking vaccination programme, we are now in a position to continue to ease lockdown restrictions as set out in our Roadmap, which remains a cautious, but irreversible path back towards reclaiming our freedoms and way of life.
As someone who loves their sport, particularly their golf – like many of you across our constituency, I am delighted to see Step 1 of our Roadmap out of Lockdown be fully put in place, which means:
- People can now meet outside - including in private gardens - in groups of up to six, or as two households
- Outdoor sport facilities have reopened, including golf courses, tennis and basketball courts, and outdoor swimming
- Formally organised outdoor sports have restarted
- Weddings can now also take place, and can be attended by up to 6 people.
- Importantly, the Government’s “Stay at Home” rule has now ended, and has been replaced by a request that people “Stay Local” and minimise travel – holidays will not be allowed until May at the earliest.
This most recent lockdown has lasted for almost 3 months, and for many of us has been the toughest period we’ve had to get through since we news first broke about Covid-19 back at the start of 2020. We’ve been unable to see our friends or our family and have had to give up so much. It’s been a significant and deeply challenging time.
Therefore, I am so, so pleased for everyone that we can now begin to meet up with others in limited numbers outdoors, where they are less likely to catch the virus or pass it on. Evidence continues to suggest the vast majority of transmission happens in indoor spaces; recent reviews considering data from several countries found very little evidence of outdoor transmission. The small number of cases where outdoor transmission may have occurred are associated with gatherings which resulted close interactions, so it’s really important everyone continues to follow the rules on social distancing.
Speaking at the Conservatives’ virtual spring forum on Saturday, the Prime Minister said that “as things stand, I can see absolutely nothing in the data to dissuade me from continuing along our roadmap to freedom, unlocking our economy and getting back to the life we love.”. I know how relieved everyone must have been to hear those words!
Therefore I hope everyone enjoys the beautiful weather we’ve had today, and hopefully will continue to have for the rest of the week while we’re all catching up with friends, playing sport, and enjoying the Spring!