Council urge Dacorum residents to follow Government guidance as new restrictions come into force

The leader of Hertfordshire County Council and the leader of Herts Leaders - representing the 10 districts and boroughs - have sent an open letter to residents urging them to play their part and follow government guidelines.

David Williams and Linda Haysey have written an open letter asking the public to follow the hands, face and space guidelines, and the new 'rule of six' for meeting people.

They also ask business owners to follow the earlier curfews for pubs and restaurants and the importance of keeping lists of visitors.

Here is the letter from the leaders in full:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Since the end of lockdown, the vast majority of Hertfordshire residents have been playing their part, adhering to the guidance to help us all stay safe and doing our county proud.

However, we all know of instances where people have been bending the rules to fit their social interactions.

The news from Central Government earlier this week needs to be a wake-up call for us all in Hertfordshire. This will involve a change of mindset. We all must follow the hands, face and space guidelines as well as the new ‘rule of six’ for meeting people. There will also be earlier curfews for pubs and restaurants; increased responsibilities for business owners to keep lists of visitors; as well as others being encouraged to work from home, where they can.

From 28 September, you could be fined if you do not stay at home and self-isolate following a positive test result for COVID-19 or if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace and instructed to self-isolate. The full guidance for households with possible coronavirus (COVID-19) infection can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

But what we are really being asked to do now is to stop and consider our own responsibilities and question whether we need to be having those social contacts that are driving transmission of the virus. This is going to be vital to keep as much of our communities as open and flourishing as possible and to prevent Covid-19 infections accelerating beyond our control.

Yours sincerely

David Williams Linda Haysey

Leader Leader of Herts Leaders

Hertfordshire County Council (representing the 10 districts and boroughs)