An appeal by Waverley’s Leader Cllr John Ward to exclude Waverley from Tier 3 COVID alert measures introduced by the Government yesterday, has paid off.
Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock announced that although “sadly” the whole of Surrey would move up a tier – Waverley would not. So remains in Tier 2.
Direct appeals by the borough council, combined with residents’ determined efforts to stick to the rules, has paid off for our borough. Well done Waverley – let’s keep up the good work. Let’s make Christmas safe in our borough and enter the new year in a fit state for the vaccination programme to begin.
Councillors in Cranleigh heard last night that the CCG will begin the local vaccination programme in its village hall after Christmas, and is proud of the part it is playing in the battle against COVID-19.
Guildford and most of Surrey moves into Tier 3, the very high Covid alert level, from (0001hrs) December 19, due to rapidly rising infection rates.
Movement between Waverley (including Godalming, Cranleigh, Farnham and Haslemere) and the rest of the county, including Guildford borough, should now be restricted. The tiers are not due to be reviewed again until December 30 and another on 13 of January.
The decision is based on several indicators, not just the overall infection rate but the rate in the over-60s, and pressure on the NHS.
Tier 3 means:
- You can mix households (in groups of up to six) only in outdoor spaces, such as parks and the countryside, not in private gardens;
- All hospitality venues such as bars, pubs and cafés must shut, or stay open only for takeaway;
- Indoor entertainment venues, such as theatres and cinemas, must close; and
- Accommodation, such as hotels and B&Bs, must close.
These are in addition to existing guidelines that state you must not mix with anyone you don’t live with who aren’t in your support bubble, in any indoor setting.
Residents in Waverley should continue to follow Tier 2 rules. Those in Tier 3 should avoid travelling outside their area, including for overnight stays, other than where necessary, such as for work, education or medical treatment.
Next review isd Dec 30, not Jan 30, I think?
Thank you for contacting us Stripe999 we are just checking, as we took this information from the Surrey County Council information sent to us. If you are correct then we will change the information immediately.
Yes the next review is December 30th
Well thank you, Waverley Web, for giving these leaflets valuable additional publicity! It may come as news but freedom to express views that you do not agree with, is still perfectly legitimate and is a mark of a civilised society. Why not just let people decide for themselves what is ‘dangerous and irresponsible’
There is a disingenuous claim out there that people who don’t subscribe to the current lockdown narrative are causing people harm. But what if it is the other way round? Could your support for lockdown policies actually be causing more people to die? Can you be certain you are on the right side of this?
We are not covid-sceptic, we are lock-down sceptic. We are concerned that the lockdown is doing more harm than good and whilst Covid-19 can be awful and lethal, awful and lethal too are the results of the lockdown. There is everything from broken bones caused by tripping from fogged up glasses as a result of wearing a face covering, to deaths from cancer not diagnosed, or strokes left untreated because the patient was too scared to go to hospital.
Then there is the effect on the economy and poverty. As I am sure you are aware, there is a direct correlation between poverty and mortality – simply put, the greater the poverty the younger we die. What if ensuing UK poverty was to cut one month from everyone’s life? Or, since this burden will not be shared equally, several months from some people’s lives?
The social costs are also enormous especially for the young who should be having the time of their lives and for the old who may have lost a year out of their lives when they don’t have many left.
On our side are doctors, nurses, scientists, journalists, politicians and some Governments. We are putting forward the case for protecting the vulnerable and allowing the rest of the population to live their lives.
Of course we all want to get back to normal with the least harm. It is surely right that in the rush to “do something” we have this debate
Sadly not the doctors and nurses we know! Two of whom have asked other family members to consider the possibility of having to bring up their young children, as they don’t believe they will come out of this pandemic alive. Others completely wrecked – and one in intensive care!
As for the unselfish old we know, who have had a good and a long life, they are happy to stay at home, stay safe, and protect the NHS. But of course itvs right to have the debate, but it is how you have it that matters.
Well, how do you have the debate then, when the mainstream media pushes out constant propaganda, and the tech giants are heavily involved in censorship of medical opinion that questions government agenda? It seems Waverley Web is very much part of that agenda.
Have you nothing to say about the 130 million people in the Third World pushed into extreme poverty by Lockdowns?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-13/pandemic-may-push-130-million-people-to-extreme-poverty-un-says
Have you nothing to say about the 200,000 people in the UK who could die because of Lockdown?
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12168579/coronavirus-lockdown-could-kill-200000-people-report/
You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Well Done Waverley!
Just come back from a Socially Distanced Family Gift exchange in Weybridge which goes into Tier 3 tomorrow – Heart breaking but despite the fact we can meet over Christmas we Won’t be… No hugs and kisses with family today and all still mourning the loss of our Father this year. Horrible Virus and not worth putting us all into a LONG Lockdown in January 2021 for a family get-together this Christmas.
So Christmas will be just the Four of us OH, Dog, and the Giant Turkey my OH insists we get! It is going to be a Long Christmas!!!
Hi Denise – we do not question the existence of Covid, nor do we argue with “keeping safe”. But the costs of lockdown are going to be greater in our view that the benefits. When you consider the very small number of people under 70 to have died from Covid, v the medical, social and economic damage to come as after effects of the lockdown, I believe we should get back to normal now with the sole difference of protecting the elderly and vulnerable more than before. We can’t really make any predictions in all this, but I will hazard one – we will not get back to normal unless we demand it of the Government. You write below “it is not forever”. Mark my words, it will be if we all sit back and do nothing to challenge the Government narrative.
An interesting read…not sure if that permalink works but head to the website if not. Anyone looking forward to Guildfordians heading into Waverley for a bite to eat? Madness.
https://www.guildford-dragon.com/2020/12/18/letter-why-have-waverley-and-guildford-been-treated-differently/
On behalf of Unlock Surrey, I would also like to thank Waverley Web for drawing attention to the vital work we are doing in opposing lockdowns, even if its choice of words does leave a bit to be desired.
Unlock Surrey was founded because it recognises that enormous harm is being done not only to lives across the United Kingdom, but also to that more transcendental thing, quality of life. We recognise and respect the severity of the Covid-19 situation and fully support proportionate measures being taken to minimise its mortality, such as the consensual shielding of the elderly and vulnerable, but the imposition of an authoritarian lockdown is several steps too far.
In order to provide some balance, let us remind ourselves that Covid-19 is an overwhelmingly survivable virus that disproportionately affects the elderly and/or seriously ill (the average Covid-19 death is 82.4 years old with two co-morbidities). In order to prevent this, despite there being no evidence that lockdowns work, we have:
– placed citizens under house arrest and in forced isolation, meaning that many elderly people have died without being able to see their families
– denied sick people life-saving medical treatment
– driven people out of work and forced independent businesses to close permanently
– denied children their right to an education
– bypassed parliament in the creation of authoritarian new laws
– seen brutal policing against protesters and arrests made with no basis in law.
Lockdowns are a humanitarian catastrophe.
It is problematic that certain politicians, media outlets and the author of Waverley Web would have it that Unlock Surrey’s interpretation of these facts is ‘dangerous and irresponsible’, but we make no apologies for our more nuanced understanding of the matter.
If you receive one of our leaflets, by all means bin it and destroy it, if that is your will. However, please read it closely first, because you might just find it makes sense.
We have heard that Guildford residents have already arrived in Waverley – God help us all!
We just all have to get a grip and GET OVER IT it is not forever – But it is for Christmas – Stay at home and keep safe it isn’t rocket science??