Thanks to the huge sacrifices made by people, life is beginning to return to some form of normality.
Pubs are open, cricket is back, and some may even be able to enjoy a summer holiday.
But the threat of coronavirus has not gone away.
We’re seeing an increase of the virus in some parts of Europe. This has led to quarantine measures being introduced for people returning from Spain – which I know has caused a lot of frustration – but it’s absolutely necessary to keep people in this country safe.
And the risks are not just from abroad. There are signs that the virus might be on the rise in some parts of the UK, which sadly means we’ve had to delay the lifting of further lockdown measures planned for this month.
Keeping up hand washing, maintaining social distancing, and following the guidance is just as important as it was at the start of the pandemic.
We have been through so much as a country in the past few months. So many people have made sacrifices. We cannot afford to throw that away now.
We’re continuing to make good progress in tackling the virus – we have capacity to test 300,000 people per day, our NHS intensive care capacity has been massively expanded, and we’ve got two of the world’s leading coronavirus vaccine programmes here in the UK.
We remain committed to honouring the promises made in the election last year. We’re getting more money for our schools and police in Kent, a huge investment in greener transport, and we’re increasing pay for millions of people.
I want to see us use this moment to build a fairer, greener, and stronger country.
Read Helen’s full newsletter online here