As we enter the second national lockdown, Cllr David Finch, leader of Essex County Council has said that their focus will be on supporting Essex’s businesses and communities through the next month, and on planning for Essex to come out of lockdown as strongly as possible.

Cllr Finch, said: “In order to come out of lockdown at the earliest opportunity, we need to remind residents that compliance with the new arrangements from this Thursday is absolutely key.

“We all need to play our part, and if we do, we believe that the extra restrictions we will be living under will do their job, and that the infection rate will have fallen sufficiently for us to exit lockdown.”

As Essex entered Tier 2 restrictions earlier in order to limit the increase in the infection rate, the council are confident that when England exits the lockdown, the county will be well placed to recommend to government that they go into the lowest level of restrictions.

Cllr Finch said: “In the meantime we will continue to consult with the business community in terms of what financial help and support will work best for them, and we will be announcing further support for families and vulnerable people, including people who are more at risk from Coronavirus or are clinically extremely vulnerable in the coming days.”

For guidance on the upcoming national restrictions from Thursday, November 5 visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november