Good evening,

At last someone is starting to listen to the people on the front line of the Covid fight here in Lancashire.
For weeks now the number of cases in the county have been rising. And while the number of people needing critical care has been relatively small, it means that the virus is still spreading in the community.
And that means that it has a better chance of mutating again.
That is the last thing we need, given the success of the vaccine campaign and the fact that the current vaccines seem to be able to fend off the existing variants.
The county’s director of public health has been consistent in asking for two things - support with extra resources and flexibility in how to use it.
Finally it seems that his plea has been heard.
Being declared as a Covid Enhanced Response Area might not sound great - but if it means we see restrictions relaxed at the same time as the rest of the country, it will be well worth it.
The Tier system we had last year did not work because it was divisive - let’s hope this plan does.