Sheffield councillors fear lockdown isn’t tough enough to stop Covid
"There are places that do not obey the rules"
Last updated 5th Feb 2021
Councillors are worried this latest lockdown isn’t strict enough to stop the spread of coronavirus in Sheffield.
Coun Jayne Dunn told a council meeting that she didn’t feel as though there was even a lockdown most of the time when she was out and Coun Mick Rooney complained about a particular supermarket.
He told the meeting: “Coun Dunn mentioned about it not looking like a lockdown out there and that’s right.
“I wondered if somebody could have a conversation with the people who are responsible for enforcing the rules about what you can and cannot do.
“I’m particularly thinking about a certain supermarket that doesn’t seem to have any rules whatsoever.”
Director of Public Health Greg Fell agreed there should be enforcement in supermarkets.
“Lockdown is less strict and less severe than the lockdown last March, no two ways about that, more activity has been enabled.
“Most people are obeying the rules but the government has enabled a lot of that activity to happen.
“There are places that do not obey the rules and we’d like to send in environmental health officers, they will go and enforce the rules where it’s necessary.”
Mr Fell said there had been a “significant rise” in infections between mid and the end of December.
There had been a “steep decline” since mid January in the rate of infections. It was now levelling off but falling slowly in the over 60s.
He added: “The measure of transmissibility probably hovers between 0.8 and 1.1 and it can flip really quite quickly.
“This level of circulating virus is still causing harm, 20 per cent of hospital beds have a patient with Covid in. That’s exceptionally difficult for the hospital to manage.
“It’s a younger cohort than you might expect so intensive care units have a lot of 45 to 65 year old people, it’s not all very elderly people.”