‘Too many people are not following distancing rules’
COUNCIL CHIEF URGES PEOPLE TO BE VIGILANT
“TOO many people are not following the rules,” Ealing’s council chief has said as he backed moves to tighten enforcement of government guidance over coronavirus.
Council leader Julian Bell updated residents on Friday August 14 that while no local outbreak has been identified the community should “remain vigilant” to protect the borough.
No new figures were revealed due to a “technical problem” with Public Health England’s portal, but previous week figures showed a “small increase” in 28 new cases in the borough.
“That’s 8.2 new cases per 100,000 of population,” he said.
“As I said last week, that’s similar to north-west London and London as a whole. It’s a small rise from the previous week. No local outbreak, but we should remain vigilant if we’re to stop the spread of the virus in Ealing and keep Ealing safe.”
According to daily figures released as of August 17, Ealing’s cumulative cases of coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic stand at 1,699 – up by 39 cases in the last seven days (since August 10). The latest weekly rates which have now been released by Public Health England also show Ealing to a near 8.5 per 100,000 rate between August 3 and 9.
On August 7, Cllr Bell warned residents to “up their efforts” on social distancing and face coverings in shops and on public transport.
He said from his own experience being out in public, he was “concerned” over the number of people not adhering to government guidance.
“I think we really do need to up our efforts and spread the message that we need to keep following the rules to stop a local outbreak and to keep Ealing safe,” he said.
As the government announced further re-openings, including live indoor music, bowling alleys, casinos and soft play areas recently, Cllr Bell also showed his support for harsher fines being handed out to people going against the rules.
“In addition to those re-openings of businesses, there is also a tightening of the enforcement, with fines being doubled to a maximum of £3,200 for those who repeatedly flout face covering rules,” Cllr Bell said.
“There are also new fines being introduced for people hosting raves or other unlawful gatherings of more than 30 people. So, please follow the rules to stop a second deadly outbreak and a local lockdown.
“Too many people are not following the rules and I do think that there does need to be an increase in enforcement.”