Bradford Council reminds residents that 'large gatherings are illegal'

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, and Alisa Newman, District Commander of West Yorkshire Police, released a statement yesterday after there had been “a number of socially distanced events” among families and the community.

They said: “We need to be clear that due to the coronavirus pandemic large gatherings are unlawful. And they’re unlawful for a reason, they put people at a great risk of contracting and spreading this deadly infection, which will inevitably lead to more tragic deaths.

“We’ve had 487 people die so far in Bradford district and that is why we must take this seriously and all do what we can to stop COVID 19 circulating in our communities and ultimately having to report further deaths.”

Police in Yorkshire were called out to a number of sites where revellers were breaking lockdown rules during last weekend’s hot weather.

The statement said: “If we are to stop the spread of this virus, it is really important that people continue to abide by the rules laid down by the government. People must still stay at home as much as possible, you must limit your contact with others and the regulations say that we cannot meet in groups of over six people.

“This is for the safety of everyone in order to minimise the risk of spreading the infection leading to further deaths which could be avoided. The vast majority of people from across the district have been brilliant, they have responded well to the lockdown restrictions and we’d like to thank people for this but we have to keep this going.

“It is vitally important that we continue to sustain these efforts so that we prevent further deaths and suffering. Even though some of the lockdown measures have been eased the situation hasn’t yet returned to normal.”