This week's column from leader of Bracknell Forest Council, Paul Bettison

Like most places across the country, the number of cases in the borough has risen sharply in the past few weeks – with data showing that most people in Bracknell Forest who do catch the virus are catching it from family or friends.

Local data shows us that very few people in the borough are catching the virus from leisure, hospitality or recreation facilities like restaurants, pubs and gyms – the majority of the spread is coming from household transmission with people catching it from their close friends and relatives.

By working together and sticking to the rules we collectively managed to keep the infection rate very low in the borough through the summer.

However, like most places across the country, the number of people testing positive is now rising sharply and so we must all do everything possible to protect our loved ones.

We need to stop the spread, we need to do it together and we need to do it now. That means keeping your distance from your loved ones unless they are in your direct household, sticking to the rule of six, wearing a face covering when you can’t keep a safe 2m distance and washing your hands regularly.

Given the rate of infection, we know that tighter restrictions will be inevitable across most areas of the country. But to protect the ones we love and ourselves we have to take responsibility for our actions, that way we can slow the spread together.

While Bracknell Forest is currently categorised as tier 1 ‘medium risk’ the current rate of infection suggests that it will follow others in being categorised as tier 2 ‘high risk’ within weeks if the spread isn’t slowed down.

You can find information about tier one ‘medium risk’ and what this means for you and your family at: www.gov.uk/guidance/local-covid-alert-level-medium

I hope that you enjoy your week, and stay safe.