Covid-19 ambassadors begin patrolling Tendring
The district council say they will be the "eyes and ears" to highlight potential issues
Two new ambassadors have begun visiting Tendring's town centres to provide advice to businesses and shoppers, and flag any areas that may need additional safety measures.
According to Tendring District Council (TDC) those safety measures might include queues or barriers in busy areas.
As well as providing advice, they will follow up on reports of businesses not following guidelines and work with them to ensure they comply, or refer them to the council's Environmental Health team for enforcement action.
TDC Deputy Leader, Carlo Guglielmi, said: "The vast majority of businesses and venues have complied scrupulously with the varying Covid-19 regulations to ensure the safety of their customers, which we are extremely grateful for.
"Likewise the majority of visitors to our town centres have complied with social distancing rules, mask-wearing (where not exempt) and frequent hand-washing.
"However, a handful of businesses have flouted the law while a minority of visitors seem to think the rules – which exist to keep us all safe – don’t apply to them. Our ambassadors will help to educate those to ensure we all work together to beat this virus."
He added: "The council will always be very reasonable around enforcement, but where there is a persistent disregard for regulations, we will take adequate action.
"We know that many people will want to hit the streets and catch-up on Christmas shopping once the current restrictions end, and we really want people to support our local shops and restaurants in doing so.
"But please make sure you avoid crowds, follow measures such as wearing masks, queuing and one-way systems, and stay patient, so we do everything we can to avoid harsher restrictions in the future."
The ambassadors have been funded by a Government grant for local councils and do not have enforcement powers themselves.