Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are “in a good position” to work through the lockdown roadmap on May 17th.
This is the view of the city and county public health chiefs who issued the embassy along with a plea for residents not to obey the rules.
Further restrictions will be eased on Monday May 17 as part of the next phase of the lockdown easing process, which includes returning pubs, bars and restaurants indoors.
Other interiors such as cinemas and theaters are expected to reopen their doors the same day, which, if all goes according to plan, will be five weeks after the April 12 easing.
And the heads of public health for the city and district spoke about the positive reaction of our region to the relaxed measures as well as about their effects on the infection rates.
Jonathan Gribbin, Director of Public Health for Nottinghamshire, said at a public health briefing on Friday April 30th that he was “very pleased” with the county’s response.
“Looking back on the last two or three weeks, I am delighted that Nottinghamshire was able to move forward on step two of the roadmap,” he told Nottinghamshire Live.
“I am pleased to see, by and large, that people across Nottinghamshire are working very hard together to do this in a safe manner.
“While every step of the roadmap will put some upward pressure on interest rates, for now based on what we can see, I’m very pleased that we are in a good position.”
A similar message was echoed by David Johns, Interim Director of Public Health for the City of Nottingham, along with a warning that there are “no short cuts”.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: “Over the past two weeks in Nottingham we have had a great perspective on our cases which have been kept at a low level.
“I was pretty reassured that what I see around me is a really positive image, where people are following guidelines and rules and helping us work on them together.
“It’s important to say that there are no acronyms in the roadmap, the rules are as they are now and yes we can look forward to the next step, but we are where we are right now.
“We should continue to maintain social distancing and wear face masks in public transit, in our retail stores and stores, and continue to act responsibly as we move forward.
“If we do this, there can only be positive things about our further progress on the roadmap.”
Jonathan Gribbin also urged residents to continue to obey the rules and warned the public to be “vigilant” on bank holidays over the weekend.
“Looking ahead, I still look forward to moving on to step three and, in due course, step four,” he added.
“In the meantime, we need to focus on respecting any restrictions that still exist at the moment.
“Especially on the bank holiday weekend, I urge people to be careful about the way they socialize.
“If they socialize indoors, they may only be with their own household. We can of course meet outside with another household or six other people.”
A review of whether the country will move on to the next phase of the roadmap is expected to take place on or around May 10th.