The government has placed Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield into tier 3 lockdown which will come into force from 12.01 on Saturday.
Mayor Dan Jarvis said that around 1.4m people will be affected by the highest alert level which is known as “very high.”
The Mayor said that local leaders secured £41m of funding to “support our people and businesses” which will mainly affect the hospitality sector.
The Sheffield region Mayor said that they have taken the “responsible route” to protect the NHS and save lives, as the number of cases has doubled over the last 10 days.
Jarvis said that “inaction was not an option,” but said the infection rate is not spreading at the same rate across the whole of South Yorkshire.
He added, “We called on Government to offer a local lockdown lifeline for our local authorities and economy, and the new restrictions will be introduced alongside resources which mean we are better equipped to control the virus and limit some of the damage on jobs and businesses.
“While infection rates vary across South Yorkshire, collective action was the only practical choice to keep everyone in our region safe.
“If restrictions are effective, individual local authorities will be able to move to lower alert levels as soon as it is safe to do so, in consultation with fellow local leaders, myself and national government.
“However, to reach that point as quickly as possible, it’s critical people in South Yorkshire follow the new restrictions as soon as they are in place. I want to thank everyone in the region for their perseverance.
“The character and grit of people in South Yorkshire will be needed in abundance to help us get through what will be an incredibly challenging period.
“Our NHS staff have worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic to keep us all safe. We owe it to them to ease the pressure ahead of the toughest winter our health service will ever face. I know people will step up and do their bit.”
Leave a Comment