URGENT guidance is needed on exactly what local lockdown will mean, says Cornwall Council’s leader.
Councillor Julian German says the local authority has been ’left in the dark’ with no guidance from Government so far.
Last week the health secretary announced that using data from the test and trace system which has now begun, local lockdowns could be used to curb flare-ups of the coronavirus in particular areas of the country.
But Cornwall Council leader Julian German says he’s not been told whether this would mean ’a village, a hospital, or the whole of Cornwall’.
Cllr German said that while the Government has said local councils will have to co-ordinate any response to spikes in the community, they have not been given any guidance or extra powers to enforce any local lockdown which might be required.
’Cornwall Council is ready to play its part in making the scheme a success but I remain deeply concerned about the lack of guidance of how the scheme will work in real terms,’ he said, adding that councils had not been consulted about the scheme or the role they will have to play.
Councils have been asked to draw up “local lockdown plans” which detail their response to any outbreak and how they will co-ordinate that response with other agencies.
’We can’t co-ordinate these activities if we are left in the dark,’ he said.
’How do we safely and effectively isolate a community? How will that work in practice and how can we enforce lockdown without the powers to do so?’
He said there had also been no information provided as to how and where a decision on a local lockdown would be made, and whether it would be up to councils or police to enforce.