A council has issued coronavirus advice for residents and businesses following urgent government calls for strict social distancing.
Beginning today, Great Yarmouth Brough Council is enacting unprecedented measures to reduce footfall in the town and discourage person-to-person interaction.
In a statement, the council said: “The council will now stop face-to-face customer services provision until further notice.
“While the customer services reception at Greyfriars House will close completely to the public for face-to-face enquiries, staff will be able to help through calls and emails.
“The doors of the Town Hall will remain open for now but with controlled access - and people should not enter unless it is an emergency.”
They also announced that public toilets will be closing for as long as necessary, and asked that non-essential travel is drastically reduced.
To deter tourists from visiting the town and groups congregating on the seafront, St Nicholas and North Drive car parks will not be re-opening at the start of the summer season.
On the matter of children’s play areas, they said that while these areas “cannot be fenced off”, they are officially closed, and families should stay away to avoid children contracting the disease from physical contact with equipment.
But open spaces will remain open “in order for people to stay fit and healthy” as long as distancing guidelines are followed and people restrict their exercising to just once a day.
This important caveat comes as parks were flocked by large groups of people across the county at the weekend, prompting the prime minister to impose tougher measures.
The council said: “The Beaconsfield Recreation Ground, Wellesley Recreation Ground and St George’s Park remain open for local people, along with the beaches.
“But exercise should be done alone or with the people you live with.”
With regards to businesses, council officers are working with New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership to provide advice, and rates-related support is expected sooner rather than later.
They said: “The council is writing to all eligible businesses so payments can be made.”
Businesses with any enquiries about the support available should contact the Growth Hub or council website, where a summary of the information provided above is also available.
General information about what will be open and closed following the government’s announced lockdown can be found here.
Active Norfolk, meanwhile, has put together a guide to home workouts.
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