Hampshire Constabulary's Assistant Police Chief Constable is thanking residents on the Isle of Wight for their support during lockdown - but is urging people to continue to follow the rules.
Maggie Blyth says it's more important than ever that people act responsibly and follow the social distancing measures in place.
Speaking to Isle of Wight Radio's Topping in the Morning Breakfast Show, ACC Blyth said officers have been issuing more COVID breach fines in the last two weeks.
She said the overall majority of people are working with the police and complying, but adds that the support of the public is vital.
She said:
"I would like to say thank you to the residents on the Isle of Wight for working with us through many months of the pandemic and supporting us to protect people's lives. But people need to continue to take this seriously.
"I think the sobering (coronavirus deaths) figures we have seen in recent days just mean we need to keep things simple.
"The advice and legislation and regulations are clear - please stay at home wherever you can."
ACC Blyth added:
"We are ten months into the global pandemic, and therefore it's important to stay at home and follow the rules. We will issue fixed penalty notices for those blatant breach of COVID regulations.
"We are still seeing people coming together in large groups - inside or outside - and we even had an example of individuals saying they weren't aware they couldn't do that. We also work with local businesses around face coverings - but we are seeing breaches of that.
"Also, there are some people who are supposed to be self-isolating and they are ignoring the rule. It is everybody's responsibility to help stop the spread of coronavirus and follow the rules."
YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW WITH ASSISTANT CHIEF CONSTABLE MAGGIE BLYTH, BELOW:
LIVE: Hampshire Constabulary Assistant Chief Constable, Maggie Blyth 🚔
Posted by Isle of Wight Radio on Thursday, January 28, 2021
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