Opinion: ‘Lockdown - Let’s see this to finish line’

Having gone through so much already, including the move to Tier 4 at Christmas, Peterborough is being asked to do more. The new variant of the virus has spread incredibly fast.

We know the drill by now. You don’t need me to repeat the message about staying at home, except for essential shopping and exercise. There are limited exceptions, but they are very limited and we know to check first.

Households shouldn’t be mixing or meeting up – even outside, we are limited to one other person, for a walk or run. Employers know that anyone who can work from home should be.

Knowing the rules isn’t really the issue. We just need to follow them, for our sake and for others.

The sacrifices being made by vulnerable people who need to shield again, businesses forced to stay closed, children who are losing their classroom education, families and friends who are kept apart – these sacrifices mustn’t be in vain.

I know some people question the necessity of the lockdown. My inbox sees the concerns that this is just driven by false positives, or higher testing rates, or admission rates not deaths, or deaths from other causes.

Some scepticism about statistics is fair. The data we have isn’t perfect, but it is now increasingly clear – the NHS would have been overwhelmed by this latest wave. It is already starting to struggle.

The Government acted with the utmost reluctance because it knows the difficulty and pain that these restrictions cause. There are new grants for businesses, but they can’t solve every financial problem. It’s tough and there is a psychological toll on all of us.

The difference this time is the clear end. The vaccine programme will break the cycle and protect the most vulnerable, so normal life can be restored.

Sensibly, we are prioritising getting as many jabs in arms as possible. By focussing on the first dose, we widen protection. Having a second dose of the Oxford/AZ vaccine after 12 weeks (rather than a month) is more effective for the individual too.

For every 250 jabs, we save a life. Our target is now 2 million jabs a week.

This is a huge logistical challenge, which involves Army planners, the NHS, our GPs and many others. Frustratingly, some people are playing party-politics about the choices and challenges this entails. I hope they stop.

We all need to get behind the vaccine programme and our NHS. It’s the only way to protect lives and get our freedom back.

As I have said many times before, if you get your call up, please go for your jab. I saw the hope on people’s faces as they were vaccinated at the City Hospital. Please do your bit to stay safe and get us all through this crisis.

There is another point that I should make again. From other parts of Cambridgeshire, sour voices can often be heard, suggesting Peterborough’s numbers are due to people in our city behaving badly. This is wrong.

Here are the figures at the time of writing: East of England – 707 cases per 100,000, which is a 19% increase week-on-week.

Peterborough – 434 cases per 100,000, which is a 4% increase week-on-week.

The people of our city have stepped up.

Our efforts are making a difference.

Let’s see this to the finish line.