Two more towns face lockdowns as cases surge
TWO towns in north-west England’s coronavirus hotspot are facing new lockdowns after a surge in infection rates.
Oldham could face a full lockdown “within days” as Covid-19 cases have doubled in a week despite tighter restrictions.
And just 34 miles away in Pendle, Lancashire, a steep rise has made it the most infected council area in the country.
Oldham council, close behind at number two, said 255 new cases were diagnosed in the week ending August 8 compared with 137 cases the week before.
Katrina Stephens, its director of public health, said bars, restaurants and gyms could close “within days rather than weeks”.
Deputy leader Arooj Shah said people were “fatigued and fed up” with rules that came in two weeks ago, but they must continue.
The town’s 235,000 residents were told they must not let any visitors into their home and to keep two metres apart from friends and family when seeing them outside.
It came after the town soared to the top of the list for the highest infection rate in England on July 29, at 50.5 cases per 100,000.
The rate has since more than doubled to 107.5 – as high as it was at the peak of Britain’s epidemic in April.
Pendle is also heading towards a potential lockdown because it has “the highest number of positive cases in the country”, according to the council.
Leaders have pleaded with locals – particularly young people – to stop socialising in households.
The council said: “Pendle currently has the highest rate of testing in the North-west and the highest number of positive cases in the country.”
● MORE than 5,000 deaths were cut from the UK’s coronavirus death toll last night after an urgent review of the way they were counted.
Deaths will now only be added to the Covid-19 toll if they occur within 28 days of a positive test result.
The total now stands at 41,329, down 5,377 from 46,706, a 12 per cent drop.