CORONAVIRUS - Follow the rules and save lives

It follows recent incidents of people ignoring the regulations, including children and young people congregating in groups in and around the town’s parks.

People should only leave home when absolutely necessary:

• Shopping for basic necessities, but as infrequently as possible.
• For health reasons, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.
• Travelling to and from work when they can’t work from home.

If people go outside to exercise, their activity must start and finish at their home. Where people use the town’s parks to exercise, they are reminded that children’s play areas remain closed. This is to prevent people congregating in groups and because the Coronavirus can live on some hard surfaces for many hours.

Gill Alexander, the Council’s Chief Executive, said: “Every single person, regardless of their age, must play their part to help prevent the spread of the infection – only leaving home if it’s absolutely necessary and staying two metres away from other people at all times.

“It’s important for parents to please make sure that they know where their children are at all times and to ensure that the children, too, follow the rules.

“By all following the rules, we can protect ourselves and our families and play a key role in helping to protect the NHS and save lives.”

Police have been given stronger enforcement powers to ensure that people stay at home and avoid non-essential travel.

Where people don’t comply, officers may:

• instruct them to go home, leave an area or disperse.
• ensure parents are taking necessary steps to stop their children breaking these rules.
• issue a fixed penalty notice of £60.
• issue a fixed penalty notice of £120 for a second offence.

Individuals who do not pay a fixed penalty notice could be taken to court, with magistrates able to impose unlimited fines.