THE leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has said that he believes any new lockdown measure will be “limited” in this area, but warns of the risks of travelling North.

When asked by the Gazette about new lockdown announcements expected from central government later today, Cllr Ken Rhatigan said: “I think, hopefully, the measures we have taken to remain a low Covid case area mean that any restrictions are limited within our area, but obviously we are a business community and lots of people travel, either for work or leisure, to the North.

“So we need to make sure that whether we are visiting our children at university, or going to travel there for work, we recognise that they might not have the same limited restrictions we enjoy here.”

“It does not mean we should be sitting on our hands. We must make sure we are wearing face coverings when we go out, washing our hands - the need for diligence is still there,” he added.

Speaking of the role of the council in potential new measures, Cllr Rhatigan said: “We are aware that it is possible that it is coming down the country, so will continue to reflect the government messages that we are given.

“With more cases will be more deaths, and that is a real tragedy, both for the individual families and for the nation as a whole, and I look forward to the day when we have a vaccine.”

Cllr Rhatigan emphasised that the council’s focus would be on properly communicating any changes to the general public, saying: “We will always be somewhere you can trust the information. Residents can phone in, or publicans and landlords can get in contact with us, and we will give them our best guidance.”