We’re safer than most but we can’t take chances

IN the main, throughout the pandemic, Ashbourne has always got off rather lightly when it comes to infection rates. So it’s perhaps a little alarming to see the number of local cases creeping up to near average levels.

But, we must remember, the news is not all bleak.

In population terms, the number of new cases is still quite low. It might be at or near the national average, but we’re still in a relatively safe place.

A fall in the number of new cases across the Derbyshire Dales is also reason to be optimistic about the weeks ahead. And perhaps a good omen of what will hopefully start to be reflected in Ashbourne itself.

But any good news during this outbreak, and the series of lockdowns we’ve had to endure over the past nine months, should not be cause for complacency.

We’re hoping that next month we might start to see restrictions lifting, if only slightly, but we need to remember this is not a time to drop our guards and to assume everything will be OK.

Too many people are suffering, too many people are going to hospital, and too many people are dying for us to undo all our hard work now.

Last week we reported on a family that had travelled in from Peterborough, and this week we’ve heard of a group from Stockport that got into a sticky situation in Wetton.

The town is busier than it should be in a full lockdown. We saw how quiet it was in March and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be as quiet now.

So it’s clear some people aren’t taking the lockdown seriously enough and that the current restrictions might last longer than we’re hoping.

But, for the sake of everyone who’s working hard to keep everyone else safe, stay at home if you can. Let’s get through this as quickly as possible so life can finally start to get back to normal.