Politicians to press for Tier 1 across Shropshire if cases continue to fall
Politicians say they will press for Shropshire to be moved into Tier One of the government's Covid restrictions if case rates continue to fall.
Public health figures show that the case rate per 100,000 people has been steadily dropping as a result of the lockdown, with Shropshire now at 62.8, and Telford & Wrekin at 112.
The numbers represent a significant fall on the previous week, and a major drop from the peak when Shropshire was 255 on November 11, and Telford was 377.
They have offered hope that both the Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin areas could be moved into Tier One of restrictions when the government carries out its next two reviews.
Shropshire Council's Conservative leader Peter Nutting said: "I am expecting to have a serious discussion about it with senior officers towards the end of the week. Then we will decide what our attitude is, but if the numbers are very low we will be seriously talking about trying to move into Tier One."
There has been speculation that the Government wants to avoid relaxing restrictions ahead of Christmas, with the impact of families mixing over the festive period likely to lead to an increase in cases.
Councillor Nutting said: "We have got to consider Christmas and the easing of regulations and what impact that may have. We are slightly concerned that could lead to a rise in the infection rate so we will be cautious."
He added: "I would say a big thank you to the people of Shropshire for being sensible, wearing face masks, washing their hands, maintaining social distancing. It does appear to be working in Shropshire and we are really pleased with the way the numbers are going."
Decisions over which tier areas are placed in are taken with a variety of criteria, not just the infection rate per 100,000 people. One of the main factors is the number of Covid admissions at local hospitals.
Shropshire's Director of Public Health, Rachel Robinson, has tempered expectations of the relaxing of restrictions by saying there had been a "sharp rise" in the admissions at local hospitals.
'Quietly confident'
Shaun Davies, Labour leader of Telford & Wrekin Council said he "would not rule out" a drop to Tier One, but that the considerations ahead of Christmas may play a part in the Government's thinking.
He said: "I would not rule it out but I frankly think it will be more of a political decision than a scientific one. It will be how much the government wants to relax restrictions before Christmas."
Some politicians have urged the government to consider Shropshire and Telford separately when it comes to the tier review, but Councillor Davies said the close links between the two meant it was sensible to assess them together.
He said: "When they decided which areas to put together it was considering the flow of workers and residents between borders, so it would make complete sense for them to be assessed together.
"How can you have Shifnal in Tier One and the centre of Priorslee in Tier 2. It does not make any sense."
Shrewsbury & Atcham MP, Daniel Kawczynski, also said he would be pushing for Shropshire to drop to Tier One if case rates continue to fall.
He said: "At the moment we are assessing in collaboration with the medical experts at the hospital and council, the R rate in Shropshire and we are trying to lobby the government to ensure when the review comes up later this month Shropshire does move down to Tier One, and we are quietly confident, certainly from the figures we are seeing, this is a possibility."
