Coronavirus: Peterborough in Tier 3 would be ‘devastating’ says council leader

Cllr John Holdich is urging residents to follow the rules as he praised the impact of Covid marshals who are being deployed across the city 12 hours a day, seven days a week, to persuade people to follow the current lockdown rules.

Although the marshals do not have the powers to hand out fines, they are joined four hours a day by police and are in regular contact with the force.

The team of marshals recently expanded from 10 to 30 thanks to new government funding.

Peterborough has moved into Tier 2 restrictions once the national lockdown ended, despite its rates of transmission being higher than some areas in Tier 3.

Cllr Holdich told the Peterborough Telegraph: “Tier three would be devastating.

“We’ve got to get the rates down for everybody’s sake - to protect jobs and hospitals.

“We owe it to ourselves and the city, and our friends and relatives, to abide by the rules.”

Cllr Holdich acknowledged that messaging on Covid-19 has been “confusing,” with the marshals making sure that people are aware of what they can and cannot do.

He said: “When the Government came out with marshals we had 10 of our own staff seconded from other jobs to do it. This proved to be successful and was welcomed by shop owners and the public alike so we decided to extend that.

“The new marshals are being paid for by the Government with 20 on the streets at any one time, seven days a week, from 9am until 9pm.

“It seems to work and people appreciate it. We are trying to make our city as safe as it can get.

“Queengate has bought 50,000 masks and will have people on the door when it opens up. We’re making sure supermarkets are insisting people wear masks. We’ve been very successful in many ways.

“In the first phase of the pandemic we had one of lowest rates in the country. In the second wave we’ve stabilised it, but we’ve got to get it down.

“A lot of people don’t listen to the news and a lot don’t care. We’ve got to get the message out there again. We need to get it down to save jobs and get hospital care back to what it was. If people don’t do their bit they being selfish to others.

“We believe we’ve got robust policies in place to get it down and we need the co-operation of the public.

“The response from public so far is they feel safe with the marshals.”

Cllr Holdich said the “simple” message to remember is wear your mask, wash your hands and observe social distancing.

He also said fines are being handed out by Cambridgeshire police due to non-compliance of lockdown rules.

Asked if there were hotspots for the virus in Peterborough, he responded: “In the first wave the concentration was on central Peterborough but then spread right way across the city. No area was untouched.

“It’s going down now in rural areas and going back up in the more concentrated, central area of Peterborough. We will concentrate on that area with the marshals.

“We will do posters and stickers on shops to say they have been checked for Covid safety. It’s just a matter of re-enforcing the message.

“There are so many different languages out there we’ve got to get it across to people. We all have a duty to get that message out. It’s gone on so long you go back to normality. We just need to keep re-enforcing the message.”

Tier 2 restrictions are:

- No household mixing with people not in your support bubble indoors

- The Rule of Six will apply outside

- Pubs and Restaurants to shut at 11pm and provide table service only

- Alcohol in pubs can only be served as part of a ‘substantial meal’

- Spectators allowed at sports events and live performances in limited numbers (2,000 for Peterborough United)

- Personal care including hairdressing is allowed.