Dear people of Broxtowe,
In this coming week, every household in Broxtowe and the country shall receive a letter from the Prime Minister. In this letter the Prime Minister outlines the guidance that everyone should follow and the measures that the government has put in place to fight and beat coronavirus. The PM also writes the reason why we must follow these rules:
‘If too many people become seriously unwell at one time, the NHS will be unable to cope. This will cost lives. We must slow the spread of the disease, and reduce the number of people needing hospital treatment in order to save as many lives as possible’.
There will also be an enclosed leaflet that sets out the support that the Government has made available for businesses and individuals including for those in Broxtowe.
I have been in contact with Inspector Simon Riley, District Commander, about policing in Broxtowe. He told me that their strategy at present, as set by their Gold Command, is ‘Engage, Explain, Encourage and Enforce’. Our local police are concentrating on the first three E’s of this strategy and fortunately not as much enforcement has been necessary. His team has been out in Beeston this morning (30th March) and it is noticeably quieter than last week. This is good news, but please remember that when we are in our town centres, we should only be there for essential purchases only. Moreover, social distancing measures (standing two metres apart) should be followed at all times including when queuing for our goods or for money at cashpoints. Please could we remember that the social distancing measures apply to everyone, including children and teenagers. I know this is a difficult time but if we all pull together, we can beat this virus and get back to normal when it is safe to do so. Let us make sure that the police in Broxtowe do not need to focus on the fourth ‘E’ and that Inspector Simon Riley’s team can focus on their three E’s of his strategy. We will be keeping in touch throughout the coronavirus pandemic and I will update you the people of Broxtowe of any changes in the policing strategy.
During this pandemic there can be an information overload and we may not know what information to trust. This is one of the reasons that I started to write these updates, so the people of Broxtowe can stay updated. My website is intended to be a one-stop-shop of all the authoritative information and advice. It is also helpful that the Government’s Rapid Response Unit is working with social media companies to combat the spread of false information about coronavirus. It is vital that the people of Broxtowe and the general public at large have the right information to be able to protect themselves, their loved ones and their fellow countrymen. The Government will relaunch the ‘Don’t Feed the Beast’ public information campaign next week and it has a checklist to help us all to spot whether information may be misleading, these are:
- Source - make sure information comes from a trusted source
- Headline - always read beyond the headline
- Analyse - check the facts
- Retouched - does the image or video look as though it has been doctored?
- Error - look out for bad grammar and spelling
I am delighted that Boots has set up a new COVID-19 testing facility at its headquarters in Beeston. I understand that it will offer free testing for NHS workers who are self-isolating. I am delighted that we are leading the way with this testing right here in Broxtowe. We absolutely must protect our NHS heroes.
Here to serve you and your family.
Darren