Published Monday 5 July 2021 at 17:42
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement this evening, Council leaders have issued a statement.
Leader of the Council, Councillor Mohammed Khan and Chief Executive Denise Park, said:
We welcome the Prime Minister setting out his plans and giving the country more detail on what life will be like should we proceed as expected to step 4 of the roadmap from July 19th onwards.
We will look at the detail and respond fully but agree we need to eventually learn to live with Covid-19 because the restrictions as we’ve known them are not sustainable. The pandemic has had a terrible impact on us all. Our residents have been in some form of lockdown since March 2020 which has taken its toll on everyone. Businesses, especially the hospitality sector and its supply chains, have greatly suffered. We want to see them all be able to operate at full capacity, to thrive and flourish.
While we are all really looking forward to getting back to as normal as possible, there is still more clarity we need especially around whether the Government will continue giving local advice to areas such as ours or if advice and guidance will apply across the whole country. There will be a lot of debate but we will lobby for the best for our residents and businesses and, as a Council, continue to support everyone through the recovery.
While plans have been outlined, at present, nothing has changed. We are still in Step 3 and in the immediate term the mission in Blackburn with Darwen remains the same: get as many people double-vaccinated as possible, keep following guidance around testing and keep driving the infection rates down.
If you haven’t had your vaccine yet, please book on or walk-in as soon as possible, and get your second dose to give longer lasting, stronger immunity.
We can only get out of this pandemic if we keep working together.