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"Why Should We Be Penalised?" - Politician Calls For Isle Of Wight Lockdown Exemption

An Isle of Wight politician has called for the Island to be exempt from the "one size fits all" nationwide lockdown.

Former UKIP parliamentary candidate for the Isle of Wight, Daryll Pitcher, says the Island has "one of the lowest infection rates in the country" and should therefore "not be penalised" for it.

He wants the Island to have a devolved health policy - much like in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Under devolved power, each country has their own responsibility for organisational control and funding of their own NHS systems.

This includes family planning, provision of health services and the prevention, treatment and alleviation of disease, illness, injury, disability and mental disorder.

In England, Westminster retains responsibility for these powers. But Mr Pitcher thinks the Isle of Wight should have control over its own health system. He said:

"In normal times, there's a case that health policy should be local anyway. There's an awful lot of benefit in uniting services on the Island and getting closer working together. In regards to the current situation, it would enable you to do various things. 

"Top of the list for me would be stopping people coming to the Island for COVID tests. You could also do other things like in Europe, like temperature tests. So everyone coming over on the ferry they could take their temperatures on the ferry and if they have a high temperature you could turn them away. Or if they're local or a resident you can quarantine them on the ferry on the way back and tell them to get a test in the morning sort of thing. 

"Hotel and campsites and so on, they can be tested twice a day. Coach parties can be tested and tourist attractions. By doing that, you enable tourism to keep going and the Island to stay open.

"With such low cases, the lockdown is not justified here. Obviously people could be watching and if things started to look bad, you could change. But at the moment a lockdown isn't justified on the Island."

In the last seven days, data from Public Health England shows the Island has an infection rate of 41.6 per 100,000 population.

That is the seventh lowest in the UK, with only places such as Orkney and Aberdeenshire ranking below that.

However, the Island has seen a rise in infections. In the first four days of November, 24 cases have been confirmed on the Island.

Simon Bryant, director of public health for the Isle of Wight, said:

"Whilst the cases are low, they are going up as they are nationally and we need to manage that in a really careful way. The new restrictions really help us to manage the number of cases, halt the rise and keep Island residents safe.

"Let’s use this opportunity to further the really good work we've done to protect ourselves from COVID. I want to thank the residents for what they're doing because it's really important that we do that and protect our vulnerable people and save lives."

Mr Pitcher - who stood as Independent Brexiteer candidate in 2019's General Election - has recently confirmed he will be involved with a new political party on the Island.

The Vectis Party aims on standing candidates during May's 2021 local elections.

Asked by Isle of Wight Radio how realistic a devolved health policy would be on the Isle of Wight, he said: 

"The devolution agenda is gathering pace across the country. The current Conservative Government seem quite keen on it. There's no reason why it can't be done.

"We're a large body of land that's not connected to the mainland and that does present challenges and we deserve to be given a special case. I think COVID has shown that and if we had that legislative power now we could put in place the things that we need to keep the Island safe."

Yesterday (Wednesday), the Isle of Wight's MP failed to vote on another nationwide coronavirus lockdown. 

Bob Seely said there was not enough evidence available for him to make an 'informed choice', despite previously questioning the effectiveness of a lockdown.

New nationwide restrictions have come into force across England today (Thursday), which will remain in place until at least December 2.

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