ROB Gledhill, leader of Thurrock Council, has delivered a message to residents saying he is confident the authority made the right decision by not stepping up into the next tier of the coronavirus prevention strategy.

Thurrock successfully argued with the government that it should remain at tier one, while neighbouring Essex County Council elected to go to tier two this week.

Cllr Gledhill says: "When we as a council made the decision that Thurrock should remain in Tier 1 – Medium, the lowest alert level – we based it on a balance of the threat posed by coronavirus and the harm that could be caused by imposing stricter rules on residents.

"You might have read in the local media about increasing numbers of people testing positive in Thurrock so I thought it was important to provide some context around that and reassure you that we are monitoring the situation closely and, based on the current information, we still feel that remaining at the lowest alert level is what is best for the borough, its businesses and everyone who lives here.

"The increase we saw in the positive test results per 100,000 figure quoted in the coverage can largely be accounted for by two highly localised and well managed outbreaks, including residents of Thurrock being infected by an outbreak in Basildon Hospital. We have seen no evidence of a significant increase in community infection.

"If the increase as a result of these two incidents are removed from the equation then between 9 and 16 October there were only nine more people tested positive than the week before, that is not a significant increase.

"Every single Thurrock resident who has tested positive and their contacts have been followed up by the council's Test and Trace Team.

"If we were to go to Tier 2 – High Alert – at this stage I believe the restrictions would cause more harm than good.

"Preventing people from visiting friends and family indoors – and the knock on effects that will have on hospitality businesses – will have a significant impact on people's wellbeing. In the short term there are the mental health issues people could suffer as a result of loneliness and isolation and in the longer term economic issues and unemployment are clearly linked to negative health outcomes.

"It is worth bearing in mind that we are now testing 16 times more people than we were at the peak of coronavirus infections earlier this year so it is not surprising that we are seeing an increase in the number of positive test results.

"Similarly we are not seeing huge numbers of people being hospitalised as a result of coronavirus, right now there are less than 70 people in Basildon Hospital who are confirmed as having coronavirus, with one COVID-19 patient on a mechanical ventilator and one in the Intensive Care Unit.

"Basildon Hospital covers the populations of not just Thurrock but also Basildon and Brentwood, however the hospital doesn't supply details as to where patients come from.

"We continue to closely monitor and review the situation on a weekly basis. We do not just look at the current positive test rates per 100,000, we also review the number of people hospitalised as result of coronavirus and those that are receiving extra care such as mechanical ventilation.

"Right now we feel that, all factors taken into account, keeping Thurrock in Tier 1 is correct.

"The most important thing we can all do now is keep playing our part and remember hands, face, space and that it's still vitally important that we all practise social distancing whenever we go out.

"I would also like thank the government for the additional funding given to Thurrock Council this week to help us cover the extra costs we have incurred due to the pandemic. We will still see financial pressure in the coming years but we will do all we can to ensure the council can provide its critical services as a priority."

Last weekend the government introduced new local COVID alert levels which set out different rules for different areas to better manage outbreaks.

Thurrock has remained at Tier 1, the lowest level. It means residents living in the borough can meet with other residents indoors as long as they continue to follow national social distancing guidance including the rule of six and remember to follow hands, face, space advice.

However those living in Essex County Council or London borough areas are subject to more stringent Tier 2 restrictions which mean they cannot visit anyone from outside their household or support bubble indoors, no matter where they are. A support bubble is a close support network between a household with only one adult in the home and one other household of any size.

Put simply people from Thurrock cannot go into a Tier 2 area – for example Basildon – and visit family or friends in their homes or have them over to visit them in their homes. Nor can they meet inside hospitality venues anywhere. Meetings can still take place outside as long as the rule of six is followed and social distancing maintained.

Government guidance has also made it clear that people living in Tier 2 areas must not travel outside of their area to meet people indoors, either at home or in an entertainment venue.

"It is important that we all understand these new rules and follow them to help keep Thurrock as safe as possible" concluded Cllr Gledhill.