News / Politics
Planning an ‘exit strategy’ for Bristol
Marvin Rees has outlined some of the immense challenges over deciding the best “exit strategy” for the city in the wake of the coronavirus peak.
The mayor says he would not want a national directive to be based on the position of the capital if the implications might prove detrimental to Bristol as he joined new Labour leader Keir Starmer in calling for more clarity from the Government on future planning.
Health experts believe that the South West region might be behind the curve in terms of COVID-19 cases, with the peak not expected until the summer.
is needed now More than ever
Speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday, Rees said one of the calls that will have to be made is whether the lifting of lockdown measures will be done nationally or by city region or by sector.
The mayor continued: “London, for example, will be at a different point in the curve. What we wouldn’t want is a decision that fits the positioning of another city that then kicks off an increase in coronavirus spreading in Bristol.
“We really don’t know what the exit strategy is. We are going to have to wait and see what the advice is and what is happening in Bristol and the success or not of the measures we have taken and how that success relates to other towns and cities near and far. It depends on so many factors.”
Rees outlined some of the difficult decisions to be made, saying: “What we are doing to contain the virus hurts the city and the country. The state of our economy is also a driver of health, 40 per cent of population health outcomes are down to socio-economic factors. There will be health price to be paid for the damage done to our economy.
“The decision to be made by us and by the government will be at what point are we doing more harm by damaging the economy and the impact that has, particularly on the more vulnerable people, than gains we are making in containing coronavirus.”
The mayor said city leaders will have to follow the advice of health experts but that they need to be able to plan and be ready to meet challenges as they arise.
He added: “This is the first time we have faced anything like this locally, nationally or internationally. That’s one of the reasons Keir Starmer is calling for more clarity from the government about what the exit strategy is. What would the key frameworks be? We need to think ahead of time.”
Main photo by Martin Booth
Read more: Rees: ‘Let’s rebuild a fairer, inclusive and more sustainable economy’
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
