Preston City Council’s leader reacts to tier-4 restrictions decision

The leader of Preston City Council has expressed his ‘disappointment’ at the city going into tier-4 restrictions.

Councillor Matthew Brown has called on the city to ‘pull together’ to drive down coronavirus infection rates.

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Cllr Brown said: “It is clear that the situation is very serious – with a significant rise in cases and hospitalisations across the country.

“Despite our disappointment about moving to tier-4 and continued concern about the impact of the restrictions on our communities and struggling businesses, we recognised the need to take necessary action to stop further spread of the virus.

“Again, it is vital that we pull together as a city and each do everything we can to drive the rate of infection.”

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The Health secretary also updated MPs on the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine being approved by medical regulators – which allows the UK’s vaccine rollout to take place faster from early January.

Cllr Brown said: “Today’s announcement of the scheduled rollout of yet another vaccine could not be more welcome.

“This has been an incredible difficult situation for all of us and an effective is clearly an essential element for moving forward safely.

“To this end we are working closely with partners across the city and the county to prepare for and support a successful vaccination rollout in Preston.

“I would like to encourage everyone to take the opportunity to be vaccinated when it is offered to them and help us put this situation behind us.”