The Council of the Isles of Scilly has declared a major incident in response to the extraordinary challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic.
These measures will help protect critical services for residents and make it easier for our agency partners to work together during this time of increased demand in the community.
Declaring a major incident allows the council to implement tried and tested plans to keep residents safe and well informed. This decision is not due to a significant rise in COVID-19 in the region - it is a precautionary measure to ensure all agencies and organisations are able to make best use of their resources.
Chairman of Council, Robert Francis, said: "there is no reason to be alarmed by the council taking this procedural step. It has the effect of flagging up the operational challenges which we are facing with regional and national bodies and will make it easier for us to work jointly with partner agencies at the local, regional and national level to put in measures to support the community when the need arises.
I must take this opportunity, to urge residents to take seriously the measures announced by the Prime Minister during last night's national address and to please stay at home so we can stop the spread of coronavirus.”