Local and national organisations in West Yorkshire are working together to ensure people in the region stay vigilant on social distancing rules in the region.
West Yorkshire Prepared, the region’s Local Resilience Forum, aims to keep residents in the area up to date on the changes and ensure people and families know how to keep safe when the social distancing rules change on July 4.
The organisation are also working with Public Health England to remind people of their responsibilities on adhering to social distancing rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19. From July 4, people will be able to meet in groups of up to two households in any location, indoors or outdoors, providing social distancing remains in place.
Pubs, cafes and restaurants, hotels and B&Bs, cinemas, visitor attractions and hairdressers can also re-open if they adhere to government safety guidelines. Other public places such as libraries, places of worship and outdoor playgrounds will also be able to open
Robin Tuddenham, Chief Executive of Calderdale Council and co-chair of West Yorkshire Prepared said: “While this will be welcome news to many in West Yorkshire, as people are wanting to get back to some kind of normal, it is vitally important everyone remembers the COVID-19 virus is still with us and we cannot simply go back to life as it was before. It is incredibly important people continue to follow the two-metre social distancing rule where possible.
“People will see a lot of changes in the way businesses are run, and workplaces will have to meet the new COVID-19 Secure guidelines before opening, which aim to keep everyone – workers and customers – as safe as possible.”
Tim Kingsman, Assistant Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police and co-Chair of West Yorkshire Prepared, said: “Throughout the lockdown period, we have continued to engage with the public and explain our approach, which has been received across our communities with significant support. As we head into the next phase, we will again be relying on this relationship to ensure the safety of businesses and shoppers, particularly in our major cities.
“We have been working closely with our partners and across the commercial sector to ensure that as things change, this is achieved in the safest way possible. With this in mind, we will be deploying the level of patrols to match the increased numbers of people out and about, but this will essentially amount to business as usual.
“If issues arise, we have the necessary resources in place to manage and respond to any eventuality.”
More information is available on the West Yorkshire Prepared website: westyorkshireprepared.org.uk/latest-news
The latest updates on coronavirus can be found on government and NHS websites: www.gov.uk/coronavirus or www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.