It has been dubbed Super Saturday by some sections of the media, but while most of us are looking forward to finally getting a proper haircut, the latest easing of the lockdown measures by the Government should be treated with some caution.

As well as visiting local hairdressers, this Saturday we will be able to visit some pubs, restaurants and bars and meet in groups of up to two households in any location.

Public spaces including places of worship, playgrounds and outdoor gyms will be allowed to open from Saturday and hotels and campsites can also open their doors.

Any business, attraction or public space that reopens will do so with social distancing measures in place and I am sure local people here in Swindon will continue to observe the rules that have been put in place for all our safety.

Although the green light has been given for museums, libraries and galleries to reopen from 4 July, here at the council we are carefully going through all the guidance issued by the Government to ensure we can get attractions such as the Steam Museum back open and open our libraries for people to enjoy.

It is important that when our facilities re-open we have all the necessary safety measures and risk assessments in place because we have to ensure COVID-19 does not begin to take hold in our communities. We will let people know as soon as we have firm dates for when our services will re-open.

If ever we needed a reminder about why we need to continue to follow the safety guidance, the news of the local lockdown in Leicester is a stark reminder of how a spike in coronavirus cases could take us back several steps in our recovery.

Thanks to the vast majority of Swindon people following the rules, we are fortunate that we have seen a comparatively low number of COVID-19 cases and the South West region is the lowest ranked region for cases in the country. But that is no reason for us to be complacent. It is why we are not rushing to reopen our museums and libraries because the safety of people in our town is our number one priority.

This week, Swindon’s Health and Wellbeing Board approved the Council’s Local Outbreak Management Plan (LOMP) which is our strategy for how we will prevent and control local outbreaks of COVID-19.

Part of this will involve utilising the national track and trace programme and the regional testing centre we have at the former Wroughton Park and Ride site. Containment and response cells will also be set up to act quickly if we detect there has been an outbreak of cases.

If we see a sudden spike in cases like Leicester, a local lockdown to contain the spread of the disease cannot be ruled out.

But we want local people to enjoy their Saturdays in the weeks and months to come, not just this one. By continuing to observe social distancing and sticking to the guidance, we can all play our part.