Published: Wednesday 4 November 2020
I recognise that this update comes to you at a time of great difficulty and heightened worry, as we head into another period where we cannot see friends and family and do the normal things we would all like to be doing.
It has already been a long road for all of us and it feels like it is getting longer.
However, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you. For your patience, for your fortitude, and for your indomitable spirit.
From the outset of this pandemic, the Council set out its ambition to protect lives and protect livelihoods, and we have been supported and led by you – our communities.
Some of our infection rates have at times been the lowest in London, and compliance with the rules is very high. We have shopped locally, supported our schools, and looked after each other through voluntary work and support networks.
But, as a city, London has been heading in the wrong direction for a few weeks now. There is no real alternative and we have to do what is right for the most vulnerable in our society, we have to break the chains of transmission, save lives and provide a platform for our economies to successfully return.
Lockdown is also about what you can do, as well as what you cannot do. It is important to us here at Kensington and Chelsea that health needs, in particular mental health needs, are met.
You can see a friend, you can take a book out from our libraries, you can use our parks and green spaces to give yourselves a break and a bit of normality. You can order food, or treat your households to a movie in your home. You can, and should, see a doctor if you need to.
Our communications with you over this period, whether by digital or by hand, will seek to be positive, to highlight these sort of opportunities and give clear guidance on what is important to you.
We will be outlining the support available, and there are many of us on the end of the phone.
So, if you need help for your business, for your family, for your community, or for yourself – don’t hesitate. Get in touch.
Hope is on the horizon, the news on a vaccine is more positive every day. It is my hope that this will be the last lockdown for this borough, and we find a way out of this situation together as we go into a new year.
Keep safe, look after yourselves and each other.
Cllr Elizabeth Campbell
Leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council