MPS get behind second national lockdown
HEATHER WHEELER AND MICHAEL FABRICANT HAVE BACKED THE GOVERNMENT’S ENGLAND-WIDE LOCKDOWN, WHICH STARTS ON THURSDAY. THEY SAY IT IS NEEDED TO CONTROL THE VIRUS.
MPS representing South Derbyshire and parts of East Staffordshire have backed a second national lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The month-long lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday.
It will come into force on Thursday and last until December 2 – with the warning that it could last longer if virus cases do not start to drop.
This means all non-essential businesses, including bars, restaurants, hairdressers and beauty salons, will be forced to close for a month.
MPS are due to vote on the move on Wednesday and Heather Wheeler and Michael Fabricant have both said they will be supporting the measure.
Conservative South Derbyshire MP Mrs Wheeler said: “I have been contacted by many constituents demanding a national lockdown and also against one. Sadly the statistics do not lie and our area’s numbers have increased alarmingly.
“Most folk locally have behaved impeccably but the truth is you cannot see this virus coming until it is too late.
“The Government has had to act on the scientific advice and so I support the four-week lockdown and will be voting for it.
“It is a balance between the health of the people and the health of the nation. This is a hugely difficult decision; decisions that governments around the world are grappling with. None want to go back to the scenes we saw early on in Italy.
“I am in constant contact with ministers and our councils about help for businesses and how people
can keep themselves fit during lockdown but I am clear we must keep our schools open.
“I will listen to the debate and hope that certain businesses can continue during this period and it gives us the breathing space we need to flatten the peak of the virus and roll out rapid testing and then, hopefully, a vaccine.”
Fellow Tory Mr Fabricant, whose Lichfield constituency covers parts of East Staffordshire, including Barton under Needwood, said: “Nobody wanted another lockdown and a few weeks ago the scientists were advising the Government that it could be avoided if everyone stuck to the rules.
“Sadly, they didn’t, though in Lichfield and Burntwood we did in the main. Only two weeks ago, I was discussing with Health Secretary
Matt Hancock whether Lichfield and Burntwood could remain exempt from rising above Tier 1 restrictions.
“But infection rates have soared with the real risk that Covid would rip through our communities and overwhelm hospitals, resulting in them having to turn away patients.
“The lockdown, which I support, will help prevent that from happening. If we all stick rigidly to the rules, the lockdown will end on December 3. If selfish people ignore them, then restrictions will have to continue.
“Some have claimed that if we had had a national lockdown earlier, it needed have only lasted two weeks. This is contrary to all the medical and scientific advice.
“But it’s not all doom and gloom. The furlough scheme has been extended, with the state paying 80 per cent of salaries. New drugs are
available to treat infection that were not available last March and the UK has invested in six different vaccines and has rights to others.
“The vaccine trials are going well. It is not unreasonable to expect that it will start to be rolled out in the first quarter of 2021.
“But it will be a huge programme. Two inoculations will be required with a two-week gap and tens of millions will require vaccination. The logistics will be immense and the vaccine will not necessarily give total immunity.
“I am reasonably confident that by summer next year we will be able to look back on this period as a world tragedy but one we got through together.”
Burton and Uttoxeter MP Kate Griffiths has been contacted for a comment.