I wanted to update residents of Rutland on our COVID-19 rates which I know continue to worry our community.
Rutland continues to have a low rate of cases of COVID-19 within the community. The outbreak at HMP Stocken accounts for around 60% of all cases in the county - leaving cases within our community comfortably below the national average.
HMP Stocken has rightly continued their programme of mass testing, resulting in increased cases being identified within the prison. Once again, their staff are working enormously hard to keep these cases within the prison, and there remain no signs of spread to the community. This is testament to how effective they are.
I want to reassure everyone that their efforts in staying at home, as well as receiving the vaccine, are working. Indeed we have the highest uptake of vaccines in over 70s in the country, and over a quarter of Rutland’s population has now been vaccinated.
My thoughts and thanks are with the prison staff who are doing everything they can to continue to keep us safe.
I will continue to support the prison in any way I can.
