Enfield Council leader Cllr Nesil Caliskan has urged people to stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

With warm weather expected over the Easter weekend, Cllr Caliskan said residents should follow the Government’s guidelines and only leave their homes to exercise or shop for basic necessities.

The council leader reminded people to follow social distancing rules when outdoors and stay two metres away from members of other households.

And she warned the council may be forced to restrict access to parks and open spaces if too many people ignore the rules.

Her plea comes after the tragic news that several elderly people in one of the borough’s care homes died of what is believed to be coronavirus.

Cllr Caliskan said: “The true reality of what coronavirus means for Enfield and its people hit home this week with the tragic news that a number of elderly people living in one of our care homes have died of what is believed to be the illness.

“As of Thursday 9 April, more than 7,000 people in the UK have died of COVID-19 including too many people from our own borough. My thoughts and the thoughts of everyone at Enfield Council are with those families affected by coronavirus.

“We are doing everything we can to slow and stop the spread of this virus. We know that anyone can be affected by the virus and anyone can spread it, young or old.

“I write to you as we are about to enter the Easter weekend and we expect good weather. I know that normally this would be a time many of you would spend with friends and family, out and about, perhaps enjoying the wonderful parks and green spaces in the borough.

“However, times have changed and we all have to adhere to the strict instructions to stay at home. If you do leave the house for basic necessities or for daily exercise, you must follow the Government’s strict social distancing guidelines and leave two metres between yourself and others.

“In the last few weeks we have increased the number of patrols in our parks to make sure people follow these guidelines. We are working with our local police to remind everyone that they are not allowed to sunbathe, picnic or socialise in our parks or open spaces – it is simply not safe or sensible to do so.

“These measures have been introduced to slow the spread of COVID-19 and help save lives. We will be monitoring all of our parks and open spaces closely over the weekend. If we find there are too many people visiting our green spaces and ignoring social distancing guidelines, we may be forced to take further action to restrict access.

“Parks and open spaces are crucial for those many residents who don’t have access to a garden. Please consider the wellbeing of everyone in our borough by not abusing the rules on gathering in public spaces so that people can continue to use our parks for their daily exercise.

“As leader of Enfield Council I have seen first hand the commitment and bravery of all of our frontline staff who are striving to ensure we continue to deliver the services you rely on. They include our binmen, our social workers and carers and our housing staff who go above and beyond the call of duty every day. I also know that our NHS staff and care workers are working to look after those who are vulnerable and fighting for the lives because of coronavirus.

“We owe each and every one of them a deep debt of gratitude for doing their jobs in the most difficult of circumstances. In these troubling times the least we can do for them is to resist the temptation to go out and do our bit to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“As always you can find out more about what Enfield Council is doing to tackle coronavirus at www.enfield.gov.uk/covid19 and you can find out more about the Council’s Enfield Stands Together community resilience campaign at www.enfield.gov.uk/EST”