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The focus of new restrictions in Epping Forest District and across other areas of Essex is on reducing the R number – or rate of spread of the Covid infection.
The Essex R value based on current growth rates of cases is 1.27, and it needs to be below 1 to reverse the spread of the disease in our area.
Local interventions
The 2 important interventions we need to have in place locally are:
- Work from home wherever possible – this will reduce R by 0.2 to 0.4
- Reduce contacts between members of different households within the home. This will reduce R by 0.1 to 0.2. While this is the hardest ‘ask’ of people it is critical in reducing the R value below 1 in Essex
If you can to travel safely to work, school or college by walking, cycling or scooting this can further help in reducing R. If public transport is essential then you MUST wear a mask unless you have a special exemption.
To help with this there is a dedicated Getting to School section on ECC’s website www.stopswapgo.co.uk/getting-to-school
Hands, Face, Space – remain the most important actions we can all take to prevent the spread of the virus.
Pull together as a community
Epping Forest District Council Leader Chris Whitbread said:
We are seeing far more serious situations in other parts of the country, but the restrictions we are currently under in our district, – as part of Essex – give us the best chance of reducing the R number and getting cases down fast.
The impact of doing this sooner rather than later is substantial, for example a car brakes much quicker at 20mph than 70mph!
But we will only hammer down the R number if people work from home wherever possible and agree to restrict household contacts. If we do not, cases will carry on rising at an alarming rate.
I know not everybody is happy with the current situation but I would like to make an appeal to be courteous and respectful to each other. We can only get through this if we pull together as a community, looking after each other – and continuing to support our families, friends, colleagues and local businesses – the backbone of our local economy.
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