Rachel Maclean: If cases continue to rise, Tier 2 will become inevitable - The Redditch Standard

Rachel Maclean: If cases continue to rise, Tier 2 will become inevitable

Redditch Editorial 30th Oct, 2020   0

ON Monday night I joined a coronavirus briefing with Worcestershire County Council as the infection rate is heading in the wrong direction.

Here in Redditch at the time of writing the infection rate stands at 159.5 per 100,000 people.

That’s above the Worcestershire rate, but far below the England average of 225.9 per 100,000.

Sadly, cases are on the rise in Redditch. For the past two weeks we’ve seen more than 100 confirmed positive cases a week.




We’re currently in Tier 1 of the Government’s new three tier system. This means that in Redditch and across the county we continue to follow the national restrictions which remain in place.

If cases continue to rise, then discussion around Tier 2 will become inevitable.


A number of factors are considered when making this decision: Hospital admissions and capacity, the situation in care homes, as well as the infection rate in the over-60s.

From my conversations with local Public Health officials and the County Council, we’re not currently on the Government’s area of concern list, but this could change.

However, we can avoid this situation by continuing to follow the rules as the vast majority of people in Redditch are.

And we are being given the tools we need to bring the coronavirus under control.

We have the Redditch walk-in testing site which I successfully lobbied for. I’ve already heard from residents who’ve used this facility and they’ve told me it was well organised and it was a relief not to have to travel far to get a test.

Let’s continue to all play our part in tackling coronavirus.

We can all regularly wash our hands, wear a face covering when required and keep at least one metre apart from people we do not live with.

REDDITCH MP Rachel Maclean in the Redditch Standard (October 30, 2020).

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