Police, council and health chiefs across Cheshire today urged residents to be “responsible” as Freedom Day marks the final relaxation of lockdown restrictions.
They say cases of the highly communicable Delta variant of Covid-19 in Cheshire East continue to rise, with 1,222 more cases in the week leading up to July 8.
The district remains in the designation Enhanced Response Area (ERA).
Cllr Sam Corcoran, Cheshire East Council Chairman, said, “We have all waited so long for restrictions to be relaxed, but now is definitely not the time to become complacent and lose our vigilance.
“Employees, volunteers, key workers and companies across the district have worked tirelessly to get us into this phase.
“But we owe it to ourselves and others to take responsibility and follow the instructions.”
Cllr Craig Browne, vice chairman of Cheshire East Council, said, “After living in the shadow of this pandemic for nearly 18 months, the lifting of formal restrictions is a welcome relief for many residents and businesses.
“However, we should continue to exercise caution, remain vigilant and act responsibly to minimize the spread of Covid in our communities.
“This is particularly important for our 40,000 companies in the district, which have a duty of care to protect their employees and customers; This will likely lead them to take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of further infections.
“If so, please do what you ask of you out of respect for other customers and employees.
“We shouldn’t be under the illusion that the coronavirus is gone, but we have to learn to live with it.
“Like any other pandemic in history, it will likely be with us for a few more years and we should all be aware of it.”
Dr. Matt Tyrer, Director of Public Health at Cheshire East Council said, “I fear that with the rise in Covid cases and associated hospital admissions, the current situation will only get worse before it gets better.
“Because of this, getting a vaccination is the best thing you can do to protect yourself and others around you.
“If you have not yet had your first or second vaccination, please do so as you will need both doses for maximum protection.
“We still recommend wearing a mask to protect others, especially in crowded rooms or on public transport.
Cheshire Police and Criminal Investigation Commissioner John Dwyer added, “The numerous lockdowns have been both economically and personally detrimental and people look forward to returning to a sense of normalcy.
“However, we all need to be on the safe side as the introduction of vaccinations continues and the link between infections, hospital admissions and, unfortunately, death is broken.
“The people of Cheshire behaved admirably throughout the lockdown.
“The sense of community was amazing to see and I hope that the bonds that have formed will not be broken over time and that more and more people will return to the life they used to know.”
Many Nantwich companies will maintain many of the measures put in place at the beginning of the pandemic.
Nantwich Bookshop & Coffee Lounge encourages customers to wear face masks, but now respect it personally rather than legally.
Denise Lawson, Nantwich Book Shop & Coffee Lounge, said: “In the last 16 months we have taken very successful steps to stop the spread of Covid in our book shop and coffee shop.
“With the sharp rise in numbers, it just makes sense to continue as before.
“Many of our younger caregivers have not even had their first vaccination and we are far from having them work for us unless we try to adequately protect them and the rest of our staff and customers.
“We are very fortunate that we neither had to close, nor did the virus spread to our premises.
“I admit it has increased the workload, but it has also increased confidence in our business.
“I would like to thank our wonderful employees and customers once again for their loyal support over the past sixteen months.”
(Image and additional coverage courtesy Jonathan White)
