Council comments on Government announcement

Blackburn with Darwen Council has issued the following statement in response to today’s Government announcement on the continuing local coronavirus restrictions.

Read the Government latest here. 

Council Leader, Councillor Mohammed Khan, Sayyed Osman, Director of Adults and Prevention, and Professor Dominic Harrison, Director of Public Health, said:

Blackburn with Darwen is a resilient borough and, over the last few weeks, communities have rallied round and tried to get the virus under control and we really thank everyone for their efforts.

As a local authority, we have shown we are willing to act decisively and proactively since cases started to rise. We have a clear strategy and plan.

We have all been making progress albeit not as fast as we like.

The Government’s announcement that they will continue to work closely with us to tackle the virus means we are in a good position to access even more support and resources for our borough. Supported by the Lancashire Resilience Forum (LRF), we have been lobbying for increased testing capability, including hyperlocal community testing; more funding for businesses and more funding to help people who unable to work because they are isolating.

Residents and businesses are asked to continue to work with us, follow advice and guidance and not break the restrictions we have in place. However, and to be absolutely clear, further lockdown measures could be imposed unless we make significant progress in getting the number of cases down. A further lockdown will have a huge impact on all of our lives as well as the economy and we must do everything we can to stop that.

We know that many businesses such as gyms and salons continue to face economic uncertainty. We are engaging with these sectors and looking at how we can get more clarity and support for them.

As many people as possible need to get tested as well as it helps us understand what is happening with the virus in our borough.

We know some residents may be worried about getting tested because of fears of further lockdowns. But we need to know as much as possible about the virus in our borough so we can fight it. Even if you don’t have any symptoms, please get tested.

Together we can beat this virus.