Statement from Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney, Chair of the Local Resilience Forum

As part of our regular review of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum (HIOW LRF) has now declared the Coronavirus outbreak a major incident.

We have already been providing a multi-agency response for a number of weeks and the declaration of a major incident simply means we move to the next phase of our well-rehearsed plans.

This ensures all partners, which includes all the emergency services, can use joint working arrangements to effectively manage, and where possible minimise, the impact of the virus on our population during these unprecedented times.

The HIOW LRF comprises the public sector partners in Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight.