West Dorset MP urges the Government to bring Dorset down to Tier 1
A decision is expected today
West Dorset MP Chris Loder is urging the Government to bring Dorset down to Tier 1 today.
London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire have moved into tier three of England's coronavirus restrictions overnight - closing all cafes, pubs and restaurants other than for takeaways.
The rest of the country will have their levels reviewed later.
Coronavirus cases in Dorset are now lower than other Tier 1 regions were, when they came out of lockdown.
The latest figures show Dorset has 44.1 cases per 100,000, compared with 56.4 on the Isle of Wight when the second lockdown ended.
Chris Loder made the case to bring Dorset down to Tier 1 in the House of Commons.
He told the House of Commons:
"On 12th of December we had one case reported in Dorset of Covid on the 9th of November we had 85 cases reported. So it is clear for all to see that there is a considerable reduction in cases and when it comes to our hospitals Madam Deputy Speaker speaker on Friday in Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester in my constituency we have one patient of COVID in hospital.
"It is clear to me madam deputy speaker that Dorset has a very very strong case for it's tier to be reviewed and I couldn't strongly enough encourage the minister to consider that.
"The good people of rural Dorset and indeed West Dorset have been diligent bacon self responsible they been respectful not any of their selves families put others in the community."
Mr Loder also asked the House to recognise the effect on wider business and West Dorset’s economy, saying that shops, pubs and breweries have very, very diligently taken that responsibility of being Covid-secure and invested a lot of money in doing so.
With 6,525 businesses in West Dorset, 97% of which are micro or small-sized businesses, the MP says this means that they face the most difficult of circumstances and are the most affected by the situation.
Chris Loder said:
"I’m doing absolutely everything I can to get rural Dorset into Tier 1 this week; pressing the Government on this as I have been doing rigorously since November 26th. On Wednesday, the Government has a considerable opportunity. Not only to respect the diligence of those who have worked so hard to reduce the local case rate here; but also, to support the very survival of West Dorset’s economy.”