Councils bid to keep people on board in COVID battle

New research commissioned by the seven North East councils reveals what people in the region feel about Covid-19 and local restrictions.

The research, involving a representative sample of residents in South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside and County Durham asked residents how they feel about the current situation and what the impact is on their lives in the week the region entered Tier 3.

Key findings include:

*71% of people are ‘very worried’ about the UK-wide Covid-19 situation.

*Over half say they want to stick with social distancing guidelines but find it hard.

*A third say they find it hard to stick to household mixing rules.

*Over a quarter ‘forget’ to follow social distancing rules.

*15% admit to deliberately bending the rules

*The overriding emotion felt by residents is ‘frustration’ with 50% feeling this way

The results have been used to put together a major communications campaign which launches today – Wednesday 9 December.

Tom Hall, director of public health for South Tyneside Council, said: “I want to thank the people of the North East for all they have done to slow the virus in our region. Residents have continued to do their bit throughout the pandemic and the fact our infection rates are falling in all areas is testament to the perseverance shown by our communities.

“But the research findings confirm that, while people want to follow the rules, we all find social distancing in particular hard.

"Asking family and friends to socially distance for such a prolonged period is not an easy ask, but minimising close contact remains a huge factor in stopping the spread of the virus. The new campaign for our region comes at a critical time and reminds us all to keep going.”

He added: “The vaccine gives us hope but implementing the mass immunisation programme is not going to happen overnight. As Christmas approaches, it is time for celebration, but we’ve got to continue to exercise caution so that we don’t undermine all the hard work and sacrifice made to lower the R rate.

“Winter is the busiest time of year for our hospitals and Covid adds additional pressures. Not only that - by keeping going we protect our children’s education, our businesses, our vulnerable, the voluntary and charity sector and our NHS.

"By continuing to all do our bit, I hope we can return to some kind of normality sooner, rather than later.”

Dave Langley, clinical care manager, North East Ambulance Service, from South Shields said: “I wanted to be part of the campaign and thank the people of the North East because I think as a region we’ve done so well at sticking to the rules and slowing the spread of the virus but we’ve got to keep going.

"If we can keep wearing our masks, washing our hands and socially distancing we can get through this together. We’ve got to keep fighting so we can get back to normal.”

The information campaign being launched today is backed by all seven local councils and supported by Northumbria and County Durham Local Resilience Forums (LRF) – which includes councils, voluntary organisations, the NHS, blue light services and public transport bodies.

It aims to thank residents across the North East for all that they have done to support our communities and urges them to keep going.

Despite the national lockdown lifting last week and Britain’s medicines regulator approving the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, people are being urged not to throw away all the good work by being complacent in the run up to and during Christmas.