Police and BCUHB continue to urge people to stay home, protect the NHS and save lives

North Wales Police and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board are continuing to urge the public to continue to adhere to restrictions to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

With the forecast set for a sunny and warm weekend the message remains the same – stay home, save lives and protect the NHS.

Chief Constable Carl Foulkes said: “Everyone must contribute to the national effort to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak and we would like to thank the vast majority who have made significant changes to their daily habits and routines. You really are playing your part in helping to save lives. What we are doing is showing signs of working but we must keep going otherwise the last few weeks will have been for nothing.

“However this is not a time for complacency. Travelling from other areas to enjoy our local areas is not reasonable. We need the continued support of the public. The mountains, beaches and countryside will be here when this is over for us all to enjoy.

“It is important that we focus on why the restrictions remain – which is to save the lives of people in our community and to support our NHS colleagues who are caring for those in our local hospitals.

“When leaving home we need to continue to do what is necessary and reasonable and this includes where we exercise. Now is not the time for people to be travelling to North Wales to exercise in our rural communities or visit the Snowdonia National Park. The guidance from the UK Government and Welsh Government remains that exercise should be done locally, using open spaces near to your home where possible. To be really clear travelling to your second home is not reasonable, we will stop you, we will direct you home and if needed we will prosecute.

“Our focus continues to be to engage, explain and encourage with people so they understand why these restrictions are in place. Teams are out and about and our officers will continue to engage with people, establish their individual circumstances and will continue to explain the risks and warn of the consequences of failing to comply with the guidance. We will not however shy away from enforcement to protect our community by directing people to their primary home address or where necessary prosecuting.  

CC Foulkes added: “Our NHS and other key workers are doing an incredible job in keeping the public safe, but we ask you to consider that increasing the population of our area will place an unreasonable burden on them. We all know what the right thing to do is; trying to circumvent the law for personal benefit is just plain ridiculous.   

“Please only travel if your journey is absolutely essential. This means either shopping for food or medicine and for traveling to and from work if you cannot work from home. Our policing style remains unchanged, and we will be operating in a very visible way on our road networks and in towns and villages ensuring that people are complying with the restrictions. Our actions will remain proportionate and fair, we know from working with our communities here that people are supportive of us as your local police service supporting communities.”

Simon Dean, Interim Chief Executive of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “While it may be tempting to get out and about over the weekend to enjoy the good weather we are expecting, the right thing to do is to keep following the government’s advice and stay at home. This is the best thing we can all do to protect ourselves, our families and our NHS services. Please think about those people we have already lost and take these simple steps to help us prevent the spread of the virus.”

Further information regarding the new restrictions for Wales is available via the Welsh Government’s website.