The Prime Minister has now set out to Parliament the plans for the Covid-19 restrictions following the end of the national lockdown. However, I am writing this before we know which tier Somerset will initially be in.
As we enter our last week of these tighter restrictions, it is clear our collective effort has been worth it. We have turned the corner on the second wave and won ourselves a Christmas with family and friends.
There’s also good news on the vaccine developed at Oxford University and AstraZeneca. The latest testing data shows that one of the dosing regimens was 90% effective. The UK Government backed this horse early and so hundreds of millions of doses will come to us as a priority.
As we head into December, the Government is having to make some extremely tough decisions ahead of the festive period. The tiered system is set to be an important part of our continued fight against Coronavirus and so I am engaging regularly with local council leaders regarding how we can all do our bit to halt the spread while trying to enjoy as much of the festivities with those close to us.
It may not be a ‘normal’ Christmas but we can all feel a bit more positive about 2021, with planning of the roll out of the vaccines already well underway and mass rapid testing playing a huge role in flattening the curve of infections.
