PEMBROKESHIRE County Council staff have been hard at work as they look to keep the county and its residents safe as Covid-19 restrictions continue to be lifted.

Work has included setting up a joint Incident Management Centre (IMC) with other key organisations to safely manage visitor numbers.

This includes monitoring traffic, car parks, tides, accommodation, weather, beach capacity and other factors in order to anticipate any issues and adopt mitigation measures.

Some of the other measures put into place by County Council staff include:

• creating extra pedestrian space in busy areas to make it easier for social distancing

• providing signage in town centres and resorts reminding people to stay two metres apart

• setting up ‘welcome teams’ to help visitors with any questions they might have and report any issues to the IMC

• alerting motorists on how busy car parks and beaches are in popular resorts through the use of matrix (electronic) message boards

• thorough daily cleansing of public areas and toilets

• providing extra bins and bin collections in busy areas

• supporting all local residents, including those who have been shielding, through the Community Hub

• moving on people camping illegally in carparks every morning to allow the public to park in them

• providing free Covid-19 signage for businesses and community organisations to download

• supporting the business community by distributing more than £45m worth of Welsh Government grants to 3,800 businesses in the county

Richard Brown, Head of the Council’s response to Covid-19, said the Council’s primary aim was to help keep people as safe as possible.

He said: “We’re doing as much as we can to support everyone. Many other organisations and businesses are doing the same.

“Now it’s over to the public. We’re urging everyone to go back to basics - keep washing your hands and practise social distancing.”

Council Leader David Simpson added that ‘concerns have been raised that social distancing is not being adhered to across our county’.

“We do appreciate that restrictions are being lifted but crucially, we have to continue with social distancing,” he said.

“Everyone needs to ensure they manage their own social distancing as this is key to our recovery.”