July 21, 2020 10.09 am This story is over 44 months old

“Top-up your health” as lockdown eased, health bosses urge

Enjoy some fresh air while infection numbers are low
People out enjoying the sun on Lincoln High Street. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

People should start taking advantage of the good summertime weather and “make the most of the freedoms” they’ve got in order to “top up on the benefits,” Lincolnshire health bosses said.

Assistant director of public health at Lincolnshire County Council Tony McGinty said people locking down for a long time meant they had potentially not been as physically active, had not been getting the benefits of the sun on their skin and had suffered mental health issues due to a lack of social contacts.

He said: “It’s summertime, the weather is good, and we don’t know how things are going to go as we go into autumn and winter.

“So people should make the most of the freedom they’ve got now because it would be horrible if they have been pretty locked down for months, and they stay locked down, and then the numbers start to get worse again.”

Case numbers are currently running low in Lincolnshire with just 71 confirmed cases so far in July.

Many experts believe a second wave could occur as the days and nights become cooler and people spend more time indoors in the later months of the year.

“We want people to try and top up on the benefits of being a bit more active, being a bit more connected with everybody whilst it’s relatively safe for them to do,” said Mr McGinty.

He understood the most vulnerable would have some concerns, however said there were “really clear safety guidelines to follow” to protect them from “the relatively low risk of COVID in the Lincolnshire population at the moment”.

He reassured people that if numbers did start to rise the local authority and health services now had the capability and powers to act quickly.

“We’re watching an awful lot of different numbers that will give us an early warning if things start to go wrong again and we’re capable of doing that now in quite small areas of the county so people should should relax as much as they feel that they can and… if there is an indication that something is going wrong somewhere we will let them know.”