‘Right decision but too late’ – Portsmouth City Council leader reacts to national lockdown

With Portsmouth’s most recent Covid case rate (December 31) of 604.9 per 100,000 people having rocketed by almost a third in just a week, Cllr Vernon-Jackson believes more decisive action should have been taken far earlier.

He said: 'It's the right decision but once again it’s too late. This is a difficult decision but it should have been made some time ago and we would be in a far better place than we are today.

'Our rates in Portsmouth are significantly higher than what they were and people need to just stick with it and continue to follow the rules. We can't go through all we have in the last year to then ignore regulations now.'

The council leader described the u-turn on school closures as a ‘ludicrous situation’.

Cllr Vernon-Jackson commented: ‘The prime minister is telling parents to send children to school on Monday morning and then by Monday evening he is saying don’t go to school on Tuesday. We are just lurching from one chaos to another.’

Priory School headteacher Stewart Vaughan described the announcement of school closures as a ‘demoralising day’ but highlighted that ‘schools don't live in isolation and it’s obviously necessary’.

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan urged residents to follow the rules and believes the lockdown is necessary due to increasing pressure being placed on the city’s hospitals.

He commented: ‘We are a critical moment in our city’s fight against coronavirus. The virus is out of control, more and more people are getting infected by the disease and this is putting immense pressure on our local NHS.

‘For now, as a city, we can and we must recapture the spirit of the national lockdown in March. So the message is simple. Stay at home, protect the NHS, and vaccinate Britain’.

It was a sentiment shared by Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt who forecast brighter days ahead.

SEE ALSO: Coronavirus in Hampshire: 1,735 new Covid cases across Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, East Hampshire, Winchester, Southampton, Basingstoke, Eastleigh, Test Valley, New Forest, Rushmoor, Hart and Isle of Wight

Ms Mordaunt commented: ‘I know how low people will be feeling and the stresses that they and health and care are under. This is an extremely serious and demanding situation. It’s the darkest moment we have faced but it’s always darkest before the dawn.

‘We have to come together one more time to beat this. We are nearly there and now more than ever we must keep going.’

Gosport has also seen its Covid case rates rise from 222.8 to 397.2 per 100,000 in just a week.

Constituency MP Caroline Dinenage commented: ‘I know that people will be disheartened but the prime minister couldn’t have been clearer about the grimness of the situation. Massive thanks to everyone for their continued efforts and pulling together for our vulnerable residents and brilliant NHS staff.’

Fareham and Havant have also seen massive increases in infection levels with current rates of 501.6 and 645.7 per 100,000 people respectively. The Isle of Wight has seen the biggest rise with rates rocketing from 229.9 to 677.1 per 100,000 people in just a week.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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