DIVIDED BY COVID
Families and communities confused,
FAMILIES and communities have been divided by Covid-19 restrictions on the border between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
Many have been left confused, as those on the Derbyshire side are free of the tighter restrictions imposed on Nottinghamshire following a dangerous outbreak of coronavirus.
For those who live in border towns such as Long Eaton and Sandiacre, the implementation of new rules is made more unsettling by the fact that families are now unable to visit each other in their homes in areas affected by Tier 2 restrictions. No more than six people can socialise outside - and social distancing must be maintained.
Among them is 21-year-old Amy Keen, who lives and works in Long Eaton but has elderly grandparents who live in Beeston.
The officer worker said: “Until they launch that postcode tracker on the Government website a lot of people around here are questioning whether they are included in the new rules.
“We are still expected to go to work and obviously we are all fine, I’m fine, but in terms of seeing family, my grandparents live in Beeston and we can’t see them inside. It does worry me and I know it worries my mum because they’re her parents.”
Amy said that although one of her uncles is in a support bubble with her grandparents, she has a great uncle who lives alone and does not have support around him.
She added: “It’s really sad, he doesn’t really have any other family and he’s having to live on his own, he’s not really got anyone because we can’t go and see him.”
From today, residents in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire will be placed under Tier 2 restrictions due to the spike in the number of cases.
Under the new rules, households mixing indoors has been banned across the whole county but businesses and venues can continue to operate in a Covid-secure way.
For Mrs Tomlinson, a 74-year-old grandmother who visits Long Eaton for shopping and seeing friends, these new rules have caused her a great deal of confusion.
The Attenborough resident said: “I’m in a support bubble with my son, his wife and their two children. I still take my granddaughter to school every day, but it’s tricky.
“The rules are confusing – can I go and see them in the garden? We usually like to go for a long walk in Derbyshire, I suppose that’s okay. I don’t know.
“We’re allowed to go to the pub and essentially rub shoulders with total strangers and I don’t know where they’re coming from, but we aren’t allowed to ask our grandchildren to come into our house.
“There are only three things I’m certain of and that’s social distanc
ing, washing hands and face masks, they are the only three things I’m positive about at the moment.
“I suppose if it comes to another lockdown it’ll be a different matter.”
As it stands, Nottinghamshire residents are not permitted to socialise indoors with people from other households unless they are in a support bubble together.
Friends Sue Oldham and Vanessa Morris stop to talk as they are heading into Wilko – both women live
alone and decided to form a support bubble with each other.
They had travelled from Stapleford to shop and were confused about whether they were allowed to be in Long Eaton and worried they had done something wrong.
Sue said: “I think the main problem is that it’s still a bit vague and grey, there’s no clarity at all.
“I have been to see my dad who lives in Derbyshire, but I can’t really go and see him (inside) again. It’s
not too bad because he lives with his partner, I guess it’s something we’ve got to get through.”
Vanessa, who has been working from home for the entirety of the lockdown, said the situation is “a bit depressing” but she said the Government has had “a difficult job to do”.
She added: “Long Eaton isn’t in the lockdown but we live in Stapleford and we are, we’re sort of in between, it’s a difficult situation for everyone.”
It’s not just families who have been divided by the new measures and many who have relied on support from close friends to get them through this difficult period have had that taken away.
Paul, who did not want to give his last name, lives in Toton, but has enjoyed visiting a friend once a week. The 50-year-old said: “I will miss going to see my mate because I really looked forward to it every week, but I think we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to control the virus.
“The only thing that annoys me is when you see people flouting the rules, ignoring the one-way signs and not wearing masks. I just hope this is sorted for Christmas.”
In Sandiacre, 53-year-old Stewart Smith explained that although the rules do not affect him directly because he lives on a house boat in Sawley Marina, his elderly father lives in Nottinghamshire.
Stewart said: “I like to try and see him every day and get as much time with him as I can while he’s still here, he’s 86 years old, but now obviously we can’t. I know his supplies are all topped up so he’s all right. I will go and see him and sit in the garden.
“The thing with the rules is they’re always contradicting each other.”
In Sandiacre, the divide between the two counties roughly follows the course of the River Erewash and at one point is bisected by a bridge where one side is in Derbyshire and the other in Nottinghamshire.
While properties on both sides share an NG postcode and are only a few feet apart, their respective restrictions are different.
For businessman Alan, who owns B&B Mobility Specialists in Station Road, the new restrictions in Nottingham are just another blow in a year that has “wiped trade out”.
The entrepreneur said: “Many of our customers have been isolating, we have lost this entire year, we would usually do a lot of trade over summer but we were shut down, it’s not good.
“Usually we install stair lifts but customers aren’t wanting us to go into their homes, there’s a few that won’t let me into their houses so they’re sleeping downstairs sometimes.
“If you haven’t got common sense it doesn’t matter what rules they bring in, you have the people who abide by them and the people that don’t. It’s something we’ve got to ride out.”