Chief Constable Gareth Morgan calls on residents and businesses to continue to play their part in the fight against Covid-19

Chief Constable Gareth Morgan has called on residents and businesses across Staffordshire to continue to play their part in the fight against Covid-19, after a new three tier system of Covid-19 restrictions, which puts the county in the ‘medium tier’ was announced by the Prime Minister yesterday.

Chief Constable Gareth Morgan said: “We know the majority of people in Staffordshire are doing their best to follow the regulations in place to reduce the spread of Covid-19, for which we would like to thank local communities.

“Our approach throughout has been to support the public in following the regulations by engaging, explaining and encouraging, and enforcing with a fine as last resort. That will continue, but where people are knowingly breaching the regulations there to protect us all and not listening to police officers, we will not hesitate to take stricter enforcement action and issue a fine.

“Although Staffordshire remains in the medium tier, which means no further restrictions will come into place at this time, other areas in the wider region are seeing much tighter restrictions and this should be seen as a warning of what could happen here if the rules are not closely followed and people become complacent. Cases in the area are continuing to rise and I see this as a pivotal point in how we as a county need to make sure we adhere to the rules and protect lives and livelihoods.

“As a police service, we recognise that the past few months have been challenging for people and will continue to be as winter approaches. However, the stakes have never been higher for the County and if people are caught flouting the rules and breaking the law we will act quickly to use enforcement to protect people. Police patrols will be stepped up across areas where people are not adhering to restrictions and fines will be issued if people ignore the rules.”

“We recognise that policing cannot do this ourselves and we will be working closely with our partners and the community to secure a safer Staffordshire.” 

The national guidance for the Medium Tier includes:

 

Good hygiene and social distancing: Wash your hands regularly and keep your 2m distance

 

Meeting with friends and family:  Limit your contact. If you do need to meet up, limit this to no more than six from multiple households. There are exceptions, for example if your household or support bubble is larger than six

 

Going to work: You should work at home if possible

 

Education: Schools, nurseries and universities are open

 

Leisure: Pubs, bars and restaurants must close at 10pm

 

Face coverings: Must be worn in shops and on public transport

 

Test and Trace: You must stay in and book a test at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus if you have symptoms. If positive you must stay in for 10 days. Anybody who you have been in close contact with must self-isolate for 14 days.

 

Keep up to date with the latest news and how Covid-19 is affecting where you live or work at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/coronavirus