Confusion Reigns Over Government's Local 'Quarantine'
Advice says avoid unnecessary travel into and out of Hounslow Borough
Surge testing and vaccination looks set to be introduced across Hounslow Borough
Revised guidance for the London Borough of Hounslow advising no unnecessary travel into and out of the area and the avoidance of indoor meetings has been issued by the government.
The new guidelines, which was first published last Friday (21 May) but local authorities were unaware of until Monday evening, was not the subject of an official announcement.
They suggest that the government wishes to see a partial quarantine of the area including most of Chiswick and Brentford.
7 local authorities are mentioned in the guidance with Hounslow being the only London borough. They are all areas in which there have been a significant number of cases of the Indian variant of the virus. Similar advice was issued the previous week for Bolton which has seen the highest rate of Covid-19 infections with a rate of 451 cases per 100,000 population in the week to 20 May.
The new advice suggests meeting outdoors ‘where possible’, keeping two metres apart from anyone outside your household including family members you don’t live with and not travelling in and out of Hounslow Borough unless it is essential.
Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran said, “It is unbelievable that new guidance came to light only by checking the Government website. Hounslow Council was not informed that we were subject to surge testing and vaccination in advance of the Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock’s announcement in the House of Commons last Wednesday.
" Ministers have been saying that we were informed prior to the changes. This is simply not true. Unfortunately, history is now repeating itself and again, we were not informed in advance of changes to the Government’s travel guidance for Hounslow. To date I have received no communication at all from the Government. This is another example of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. It's shambolic.
“This Government needs to step up and start communicating with councils properly. It needs to inform us directly of decisions and give us time to put measures in place to inform, protect and support our communities. Anything short of that risks lives.
“We need clear, joined-up thinking and communication between Central Government, the NHS, Public Health England and local authorities. The current communication from Government on our national COVID response is woefully lacking.
“Thankfully, through the great work of the Council with NHS colleagues, we have mobilised and stepped up for our communities, rolling out extra testing and vaccination sites, and we are
seeing a strong community response to that.
“For one of London’s most connected boroughs – with Heathrow on its doorstep, the M4 and A4 running through it, the Piccadilly Line, the main line from Waterloo, plus the North Circular via Kew Bridge - to try and limit travel within its borders is not only impossible, it’s a ridiculous idea.”
Layla Moran MP, the chairs of the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, said, "This is a major change to policy that will have a huge impact on people's lives. Simply updating the government website without an official announcement is a recipe for confusion and uncertainty.
"Local people and public health leaders in these areas need urgent clarity from the government. Matt Hancock must come before Parliament and make a public statement to explain these new rules.
"It seems crucial lessons have still not been learnt about the importance of clear messaging during a pandemic."
An announcement is expected shortly about further measures in the borough to combat the spread of the Indian variant including surge testing and surge vaccination.
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May 25, 2021