Marvin Rees has spoken of his support for Bristol residents feeling deflated by the third national lockdown.
The city mayor says it is “perfectly legitimate” for people to be despondent at the prospect of having to spend at least another seven weeks under tight coronavirus restrictions, including leaving home only for limited reasons.
He said communities had shown great support for each other during the crisis and that he would continue to press the Government for “economic hope”.
Asked by BBC Radio Bristol breakfast show host James Hanson today (Tuesday, January 5) whether he could offer any positive messages for those who were dismayed following Boris Johnson’s announcement last night, Mr Rees said: “What people are feeling is perfectly legitimate.
“People shouldn’t feel guilty or bad about feeling down about the situation we’re in.
“We have shown an incredible amount of graciousness towards each other in Bristol.
“We have seen people step up and we’ve learned things about ourselves that we perhaps wouldn’t have learned had we not gone through this trial.
“People have stepped up, they’ve breen visiting isolated people, they’ve been taking food out to people.
“As a city, relative to other places, we’ve done incredibly well in supporting each other and there is a source of hope in that as to the quality of relationships.
“The other side is we’ve been very clear to Government that we need to keep making the case for economic hope.
“We are making that case to support our businesses and jobs.
“We’ve been pressing the Government on a Green New Deal so that at the other end of this there will be jobs and economic opportunities.
“I can’t guarantee that, it’s beyond my power, but what I can say is that this is the fight we’re in – making sure there will be jobs and hope for people on the other side of the pandemic.”
The mayor said that going back into lockdown was probably the right decision but it came at an “incredible cost” to businesses and jobs, particularly in the hospitality sector.
He said: “Our focus in Bristol is going to be on how we support people cope with the consequences of lockdown but continuing to make the case to Government for adequate financial support for jobs through this very difficult period.”
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Mr Rees said he had been surprised that the city was downgraded to Tier 2 the week before Christmas because it came with huge risks.
“One of those risks played out the week after and we were put back into Tier 3, and all those businesses that had gone out and bought stock were now facing not being able to sell it,” he said.
“Hindsight is fantastic. I’m sure we could all go back over the pathway and point out where the wrong decision was made but my focus today isn’t on the failings of Government but what we’re going to do to support the city over the next six weeks.
“There is going to be a very big mental health consequence to this and we need to make sure people are aware of the support lines.
“People have been hurt by this process and the more people are hurt, the more needs we have as a city.”
All schools are closed except for vulnerable and key workers’ children as England enters its third lockdown amid a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases.
Bristol’s infection rate is 306 per 100,000 population, a 57 per cent increase in the last seven days, while England’s average is 519.
