Trouble in store

Two of town’s biggest shops hit by Covid cases as area moves into third lockdown

Two of Ashford’s largest shops - Tesco Extra Crooksfoot and B&Q - have been hit with Covid cases this week, just as a new national lockdown begins.

On Monday, supermarket bosses confirmed “a number of staff” had tested positive at the Hythe Road site, which has remained open.

Three days earlier, B&Q in Norman Road temporarily closed to allow for a deep clean after a worker received a positive test result, but the store has since reopened.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: “A number of colleagues at our Ashford Crooksfoot Extra store have tested positive for Covid19 in recent days and we are monitoring this closely in line with local increased transmission rates.

“Their close contacts have been informed.

“The safety of our colleagues, customers and suppliers remains our number one priority and we are working with local public health authorities, following all government guidance and taking the relevant precautions.

She added: “We have extensive measures across all of our stores to help keep everyone safe, including protective screens at every checkout, social distancing signage and regular cleaning.”

The shop cases come as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown on Monday as case rates soar across the country.

The new measures, which include the closure of schools, are largely due to a new variant originating in the south east which - while 70% more contagious than the previous strain - is no more deadly according to top scientists.

However as with previous lockdowns, no one knows when this latest one will end.

But unlike previous shutdowns, there is some glimmer of hope in the form of the Pfizer and Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines, which are currently being rolled out on a ‘most vulnerable’ basis.

Ashford MP Damian Green says he understands the difficulty of lockdown life, but believes if people behave responsibly we could be able to enjoy summer in a comparatively unrestricted way.

“It’s miserable but it’s necessary,” he said.

“All I can say is the vaccine does give us a potential exit - not just that we know where it is but the route we can take to get there.

“We now have the ability and capacity to do it, and while the next few months will be rough we can see some light at the end of it.

“It’s obviously going to be a really difficult time for everyone, but the numbers at the moment are quite terrifying.

“In some areas of the country, numbers are doubling every four days so strict action is necessary.

“The lockdown is due to this new variant - the system was working for the old virus, but unfortunately not for this new, more contagious variant.”

When asked whether the lockdown could go past mid-February, Mr Green said: “People have got fixated on February, however that’s when the government hopes to have vaccinated all those in the four most vulnerable groups.

“The vaccine doesn’t take effect for another couple of weeks after, so in effect I think we’re looking at the beginning of March before the first relaxation.

“That’s the big decision - how far can you relax it early on?

“About 88% of the deaths occur in those four groups, but that’s still 12% among the other groups.

“If everyone in the over-50s population is vaccinated, that number rises to 99% which is obviously a big difference.”

He also said he doesn’t want police in parks and supermarkets, saying that “it’s a question of individuals behaving sensibly, not gathering in parks and not going shopping in big groups”.

He added: “The success of the lockdown will rely on on people being responsible and following the the guidelines.”

‘It’s obviously going to be a really difficult time for everyone, but the numbers at the moment are quite terrifying...’ - Damian Green

Ashford MP Damian Green has described the new lockdown as “miserable but necessary”