Mansfield District Council is urging all its residents to follow government guidance in full after a rise in Covid-19 cases across the district.

Mansfield, along with other areas of Nottinghamshire and other towns and cities across the country, is experiencing an increase in cases. The latest figures for the district show there are over 20 cases per 100,000.

Mayor Andy Abrahams said: “The number of cases in the district has been rising. We are working with Nottinghamshire County Council’s director of public health to inform and warn the public. The advice we have is to please follow Government guidelines on social distancing, hand washing and wearing face coverings.

“For the people of Mansfield I have a very simple message: Hands, Face, Space – keep Mansfield safe. We must nip this rise in cases in the bud and everyone has a part to play to keep themselves and others safe.”

The council’s ‘Hands, Face, Space – Keep Mansfield Safe’ campaign aims to echo national guidelines. It encourages people to wash their hands frequently, wear a face covering in shops and other public spaces, and to stick to the Government’s new “rule of six” on social distancing, which makes it illegal from Monday to meet socially in groups of more than six in any setting, indoors or outdoors.

The council is working with businesses to ensure they are doing all they can to keep customers safe. Premises and venues where people meet socially will be legally required to request the contact details of a member of every party, record and retain these details for 21 days, and provide them to NHS Test and Trace without delay when required.

The council said the picture in Mansfield is continually changing and the distribution of cases across the district can vary on a daily basis. Cases are currently spread quite widely across different age groups.

Hayley Barsby, the council’s chief executive, said: “Unlike some other areas, there are no specific hotspots in Mansfield at the minute, but we are seeing a gradual rise across the area. We need our residents to be vigilant, follow the rules in full and help us to control the spread of Covid-19.”

Anyone who is contacted by Test and Trace or who develops COVID symptoms – a new and continuous cough, a temperature or a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste – should stay at home and book a test online at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.

The council is appealing to people who do not have symptoms and have not been contacted by Test and Trace to avoid asking for a test to ease the current pressure on the service.

Jonathan Gribbin, director of Public Health for Nottinghamshire County Council, added: “In recent days we have seen a sharp rise in cases across several areas of Nottinghamshire. We are finding cases arise from what seems to be transmission in a number of different settings including households, social gatherings, overseas travel, travel to/from work.

“Often the cases are people of working age, including some younger people. This underlines the importance of controlling transmission in every setting in which we find ourselves, and we rely on everyone playing their part to stop the spread.

“You can unknowingly spread the virus to other people when car sharing. Whether you’re commuting to work or picking a family member up from the airport, it is vital that you stick to the full guidance around car sharing which includes keeping windows open, sticking to small groups and wiping down surfaces.”