In oral statement today by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the outcome of the government's first formal review of tiering in England, Basingstoke remains in Tier 2.
Maria welcomed decision to use more local approach and said “The Government has kept Basingstoke and Deane Borough in Tier 2, which reflects the current level of coronavirus infection in our community, particularly amongst residents aged over 60 and the capacity of our local hospitals to treat those worst affected. With a population of more than 1.3million people it wasn’t right to continue to treat Hampshire and the unitary authorities of Southampton and Portsmouth as one entity. I do welcome this more local approach in our county which is the largest in the South East.
However, with many nearby communities seeing significant increases in infection rates we now face an even bigger challenge to do everything we can to stop higher infection rates spreading into our Borough. Each and every one of us has a personal responsibility to do all we can to not only protect our own health but also those who are much more vulnerable due to their age or health condition; and in doing so help ensure our local Hospitals can continue to cope throughout the coming winter months.
”The Tier levels will be reviewed again in the coming weeks and I will be watching the situation closely and continuing to work closely with the local authorities and the NHS.”