‘We do not want whole of Kent on lockdown again’

Call for future restrictions at district level

A total lockdown of Kent must be avoided if a second coronavirus wave occurs, a county councillor has said.

Cllr Dan Daley (Lib Dem) has called for clarity around Boris Johnsons government’s pledge to impose local lockdowns rather than a Uk-wide one if there is another spike in Covid19 infections.

No guidance has yet been issued by Whitehall about how this would work in Kent, a full council meeting was told. Kent County Council leader Cllr Roger Gough (Con) said: “Our focus will be on local responses, very localised responses, depending on the nature of the outbreak.” A suggestion was put forward by Cllr Daley, saying that any future coronavirus lockdowns should be imposed at district level rather than countywide. He said: “The objective must be that in the event there is a high spike in one particular district there has to be an opportunity to deal with that locally and not make it pan-kent as is currently faced.”

The comments come after Health Secretary Matt Hancock claimed that local lockdown measures had been enforced in Weston-super-mare to curb a rising spike in coronavirus infections in the Somerset town. Weston General Hospital was shut due to an outbreak among health staff but no further details were provided by government on how this worked. KCC’S full council was told that Whitehall has not given any indication to Kent councils on how these lockdown restrictions would work but Cllr Gough said outbreak control plans are being formulated by Public Health England and should be ready by July.

These are expected to outline key recommendations for managing outbreaks in schools and ensuring accessibility for coronavirus tests for residents. Cllr Gough said: “We currently don’t have clarity on lockdown powers for local authorities nor on how local arrangements might be triggered in the event of general rising cases and higher infection rates. “I understand there are ongoing discussions in advance of guidance being issued.”

He said the only way to avoid further widespread cases in Kent was for residents to follow social distancing measures. Green Party group leader Cllr Martin Whybrow said plans for more localised responses needed to be prioritised by KCC. Cllr Gough added careful planning was needed ahead of autumn and winter.

Cllr Dan Daley