As a Member of Parliament I get asked a wide range of questions on every imaginable topic, but this is the first year constituents have asked for advice on what size turkey to get in for Christmas.
2020 has thrown all kinds of curve-balls at us: we have been forced to spend time apart from family and friends; our work has been affected, with some people struggling to find employment, while others have been working all hours; our children have missed months of education and summer exams were cancelled.
As the Gazette goes to press this week, the Government is starting to make its plans for the start of next month public. On Monday (23 November) the Prime Minister gave a statement to the Commons in which he set out the Covid Winter Plan whereby England will move back into tiers of regional restrictions after the national lockdown ends on 2nd December.
The virus is still present, and that means we need to keep some level of restrictions on a local level. Here in Essex with the infection rate in the Brentwood and Epping areas currently the highest in the county, I suspect normal life is still a little way off.
There is, however, some good news. For areas in Tiers 1 and 2, the 10pm closing time for hospitality has been modified to last orders at 10pm and closing time at 11pm. This allows customers to depart at different times and provides greater flexibility.
In all Tiers non-essential retail will be able to remain open and operate in a Covid-Secure way. Gyms will be allowed to remain open and in Tiers 1 and 2 spectator sport will resume with capacity limits and social distancing, providing more consistency with indoor performances in theatres and concert halls.
The aim is to enable us all to meet up with friends and family this Christmas, although there is no doubt this will not be a normal festive period - by the time you read this the final guidance should be available, so keep your eye out for further announcements and updates on the news and via gov.uk/coronavirus.
The superb news that the Oxford vaccine is effective brings more hope still – particularly because, unlike its rivals, it doesn’t need to be stored at very low temperatures. Similarly, rapid testing is becoming more and more widely available bringing with it the prospect of more normality. With these scientific advances being made – including in vaccines and mass testing – we can hopefully look forward to eased restrictions in the run up to Spring. But we cannot slacken our resolve and we must remain vigilant and keep following the rules that we know can keep this virus under control.
