Mansfield residents urged to 'work together' to stop virus spread across county

Shoppers in Mansfield during the pandemic.

Mansfield District Council is calling on people to abide by the new measures as figures show the Covid-19 infection rate has risen across Nottinghamshire.

The government has placed the whole county under Local Covid Alert Level High restrictions, which means everyone must not mix indoors with people who are not in their household or support bubble, either at home or in venues.

The new guidelines mean people should work from home wherever they can and care homes should be closed to external visitors, except in exceptional circumstances.

Executive Mayor Andy Abrahams said: "Even though Mansfield's infection rate remains comparatively low compared to other parts of the county, we understand why these measures have to be applied across the board in order to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.

“The guidance and insight from Public Health at Nottinghamshire County Council suggests county-wide measures are the best approach and Mansfield District Council supports that approach along with every other local council in the county.

"We have to work together and do everything we can to keep cases low and protect everyone because the alternative is cases could increase significantly and that would have a detrimental effect on businesses and communities.

"It’s our belief that a smaller sacrifice on freedoms now will help reduce the risk of our infection rate increasing and avoid tier three measures, which would be devastating for the local economy.

"It's far better that we unite and get behind this and do everything we can - individually and collectively - to bring the rate of infection down.

"The basic message remains unchanged from last week: Hands, Face, Space - Keep Mansfield safe."

Nottinghamshire had an infection rate of 193 per 100,000 people during the first two weeks of October.

Public health leaders believe the rising level of infections is due to community transmission across age groups.