Council leader urges Luton residents to follow restrictions to stop Covid-19 spread over the Christmas period

Bedfordshire Police, health and council bosses have joined forces to urge residents to play their part and abide by Tier 4 restrictions over the Christmas period.

The restrictions mean residents in Bedfordshire must stay at home, apart from limited exceptions.

People cannot meet indoors with people from other households, including over the Christmas and new year period, unless they are part of a support bubble - you cannot form a Christmas bubble in Tier 4. Outdoors, people can only meet one person from another household in a public space.

Dr Nicola Smith, clinical chair for NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Clinical Commissioning Groups said: “The increase in infections is a significant cause for concern locally.

"We’re already seeing more patients that need urgent care as a result of Covid-19. By acting now and following the guidance, you can help reduce the spread of the virus and help keep Covid-19 hospital admissions down.”

Chief Superintendent John Murphy said: "We know how difficult and upsetting it must be for people who have been making plans to see loved ones this Christmas, particularly after all the sacrifices they have already made this year.

"Many of our officers and staff also live in Bedfordshire so personally share that disappointment, but we must remember this is a public health emergency and the rules have been put in place to keep us all safe.

Cllr Hazel Simmons, Leader of Luton Council, said: “This horrific disease is spreading dangerously quickly across our region and we must all do whatever we can to break the transmission before our health services become overrun.

“This is the worst possible message to be delivering at Christmas time but the single best action we can take to protect each other is to stay at home and not mix with people we don’t live with.”

Anyone with symptoms must immediately self-isolate for seven days and should only leave the house to access a test.

Regional and local test sites will operate on slightly reduced hours on some public holidays as well as on Christmas and New Year’s Eve but will be open as normal on other days.

To book a site test or a home test go to www.gov.uk/coronavirus or if you don’t have internet access contact the telephone call centre on 119 between 7am and 11pm.

For those that live and work in Luton and do not have Covid-19 symptoms (and are not self-isolating), rapid lateral flow testing is available.

These tests do not require a laboratory and return rapid results within 45 minutes. For more information on Rapid Testing in Luton click here.