Burnley Council leader urges residents to 'keep fighting the fight' against Covid

Coun. Mark Townsend said that only by following Government guidelines and sticking to the rules could the borough start to get back to some kind of normality. The alternative, he said, was to be kept under strict lockdown over the festive period.

"The second national lockdown period is coming to an end in a couple of weeks and we've got Christmas coming up," said Coun. Townsend.

"After a few weeks of seeing cases drop we're now seeing a slight increase in numbers again. We don't want to have to go back into a Tier 3 situation, or potentially even more severe restrictions, just as everyone is preparing to enjoy Christmas in the best way they can given the circumstances.

"The only way of getting things anywhere back to something like normal more quickly is by getting the number of infections down and that can only be done by us all following the rules. We have to keep following the guidelines and keep ourselves and others safe in order to ease the burden on the local NHS system.

"If we let our guard down and relax we'll see a rise in case numbers and that will have a negative impact, not only on the number of people going into hospital but also, sadly, the number of deaths from Covid.

"Christmas is going to be different this year but I want people to be able to enjoy it as much as possible whilst following the guidelines. I don't want to see stricter restrictions brought in just before Christmas and New Year because numbers of Covid cases are rising."

Insp. Damian Pemberton, Lancashire Police's geographic inspector for Burnley and Padiham, said: "We have been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic with partners and the residents of Burnley and Padiham to ensure that our communities, and particularly the more vulnerable members of our communities, remain safe and protected.

"Unfortunately, and particularly over the last few weeks, a small minority of people have flaunted the guidelines and the laws surrounding COVID 19 and this will not be tolerated.

"A number of significant fines have been handed to people recently who have not only put their own health and safety at risk but that of others, and I want to be clear when I say that if anyone is found to not be following Government guidelines or breaking the law then they will be dealt with robustly."