SLOUGH Borough Council has spoken out on the area entering tier two measures on Saturday morning.

It was announced Slough will be entering ‘high’ alert in full force after midnight on Saturday (October 24), 00:01am.

The leader of the council, councillor James Swindlehurst, said: “This is a position we hoped we would not need, but this virus is still circulating and we must all follow public health advice and take the steps required to help bring down transmission – as this is still a serious illness for many, and, unfortunately still remains a deadly disease for some.

“We and all our partners agreed it was time to move into tier two, as more formal action is needed and we need to prevent cases rising and even more restrictions being put in place.

“In Slough, we have not had – so far – a major outbreak around a particular venue or shop like other areas have seen. Our cases are what is called ‘community transmission’ which means covid is being passed from person to person in the community and can’t usually be traced back to any one place or time.

“This means we and our health partners can’t take action alone to stop the spread; it needs you, each and every resident to play their part, do your bit, take the actions you can to protect yourselves, your families and your community.”

The news broke when Tan Dhesi, Slough MP, tweeted the borough will move to tier two Friday - but that has been clarified it will come into force from midnight on Friday.

This swift change is due to an increase of coronavirus, with the infection rate currently standing 141 cases per 100,000.

This means residents cannot mix indoors with people other than the people they live with in the same home or support bubble.
 

READ MORE: Slough enters Tier 2 as Covid-19 cases rise at an 'alarming rate'

Other current restrictions will also apply which include:

  • Rule of six: No mixing outdoors with more than five other people
  • Wearing a face covering in enclosed areas including shops and public transport unless exempt
  • A 10pm curfew for pubs, restaurants and takeaways
  • No gatherings or events where 2m distance cannot be maintained
  • Social distancing of 2m in public places
  • At the first sign of symptoms, isolate for 14 days and only go out to get a covid test, not for any other reason.

Schools and workplaces are not affected by the new restrictions.

READ MORE: Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead: Latest Covid-19 case numbers and deaths

Councillor Natasa Pantelic, lead member for health and wellbeing said: “We understand not mixing indoors with anyone other than who you already live with is hard, especially when it comes to not seeing family members or close friends who may live just up the road.

“We do not want to lose any more of our residents, our community to this virus so please work with us, work with our partners, work with our volunteers, and follow the rules to help keep people in Slough safe.”