News Tourists asked to stay away until April 12 by East Devon District Council

Gradual easing of restrictions for locals begins next week but tourists are being asked to abide by the rules and stay away until 12 April.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) is busily preparing for the next stages in the Governments’ pandemic roadmap aimed at easing the country towards a less restrictive way of life in the coming months.

From Monday, 29 March people have been able to:
• Meet outside in groups of up to six people and up to two households including in private gardens.
• Use outdoor sports courts, areas and pools, including skatepark.

In the meanwhile the council will be working with the police and other partners to ensure second homeowners and overnight campers or holiday makers don’t jump the gun ahead of the 12 April – which is when wider travel is allowed.

While the number of Covid cases have dropped to levels allowing the Government to make these changes, Covid is still very active in many communities, with continued sporadic outbreaks.

Despite the relaxing of some rules the advice from the NHS is for people to continue to wear face masks where directed and for frequent hand washing and ongoing vigilance whether vaccinated or not.
Residents are also being encouraged to lead by example, ahead of the tourist season, and respect Devon’s beautiful countryside and parks.

As part of the ‘Clean Devon’ campaign people are being reminded to dispose of all litter and waste responsibly in bins provided or take it back home to be dealt with there.

The countryside and wildlife have benefited from the quieter periods during the pandemic and plastic pollution has been well documented in recent TV programmes and campaigns.

Mark Williams, EDDC’s chief executive, said:

It is important that we all respect the advice from Government that individual actions will determine whether the current position regarding Covid remains manageable or whether we end up going back into lockdown because Covid is once again prevalent within our communities. Please help the Council to ensure that East Devon remains as Covid free as possible.”

The Government’s roadmap for opening can be found here