The Mayor of London, , said:
“It has been another incredibly tough few weeks – and I want to
thank Londoners for doing the right thing and keeping to the
rules during this latest national lockdown.
“The Prime Minister has today set out how England will exit
lockdown on 2 December and the economy will be reopened in the
run-up to Christmas and beyond, while trying to keep this awful
virus under control.
“We need to wait and see the final detail of the plan, but it is
vital that London’s shops and businesses, which were forced by
the Government to close just as preparations for the festive
period began, are allowed to open in a safe and Covid-secure
manner. The Government should also scrap its ill-judged curfew
altogether to support our pubs, bars and restaurants.
“While this is certainly not going to be a normal Christmas, it
is more important than ever that no one has to spend it alone. It
is important plans are devised to allow people to spend the
festive period with loved ones after such a tough year, but this
must be done in the safest way possible.
“Given the sacrifices made over recent weeks and months, it will
be crucial that the Christmas period doesn’t see a reversal of
the progress made in getting on top of the virus – especially
when a vaccine is in sight.
“We have known since the start of the pandemic that an effective
test, trace and isolate system is the only way we will be able to
properly reduce the spread of the virus until a vaccine has been
rolled out widely. I welcome the Government’s plans to ramp up
mass testing, but there have been broken promises before, so many
will be sceptical. It is beyond belief that it has taken
Ministers almost the entirety of this pandemic to fully recognise
how crucial testing and contact tracing is.
“We will continue to carefully analyse the data over the coming
days to determine the tier London should be in on the lifting of
the lockdown. Londoners should continue to stick to the rules so
we do not waste the hard work and efforts that have been made
during this lockdown.”
