TOUGH NEW CURBS LOOM
Three-tier alert system could see parts of UK plunged into lockdown
PARTS of England could face draconian new lockdown measures within days under plans for a local ‘Covid alert’ system.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is expected to unveil details of the threetier set-up this week in an attempt to make the existing patchwork of restrictions easier to understand.
Government sources said the top tier would include tougher restrictions than those currently applied to millions of people living across the North and Midlands.
A planned ‘traffic light’ system of measures will be redesigned after data from thousands of ‘missing’ cases revealed that the virus was spreading much faster than previously thought in cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield. Ministers will meet in the coming days to thrash out exactly how far to go.
But options include the closure of pubs, restaurants and cinemas, a ban on social mixing outside household groups, and restrictions on overnight stays. Sources refused to rule out the possibility that some towns and cities could be placed immediately into the top tier, despite the fact that death rates remain low.
Those areas placed in the higher levels will get extra cash to help them cope.
Sources said the Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty told ministers there were signs that the second wave of the pandemic was more localised than the first.
It raised the possibility that a national lockdown could be avoided if tough restrictions are imposed in those areas where cases are surging.
New figures yesterday revealed that cases are rocketing in some of the North’s biggest cities. Manchester’s weekly rate more than doubled to 2,927 in the week to October 2 – equal to almost 530 cases per 100,000 people.
Liverpool was not far behind, with cases per 100,000 jumping from 306 to 487 in a week. Cases in Sheffield almost trebled from just over 100 per 100,000 to 286.
In Newcastle, the rate leapt from 268 to 435.
Many of the biggest rises are in cities with large student populations. Mr Hancock said outbreaks on campuses would not necessarily lead to tougher restrictions for the wider community if they could be contained.
But last night there was growing concern in government that the spread of the virus in parts of the North is so rapid that further restrictions are inevitable.
In a further indication of the growing North- South divide, Germany is now advising travellers they must isolate when they return home if they have visited lockdown areas in northern England.
Ministers had planned a new ‘traffic light’ system to make local lockdowns easier to understand.
But the approach has been quietly ditched because of worries it could lead to complacency.
‘The fear was that if people were told they were living in a green-rated area they would take it as a sign that they could go on as normal,’ a source said. In the Commons yesterday, Mr Hancock said: ‘It is critical that our rules are clear at a local level so the public can be certain what they need to do.’ Under the three- tier system, all existing local lockdown areas will be placed on alert level two, with similar restrictions on indoor mixing.
The rest of the country will be placed on level one, with Britons asked to follow existing social distancing guidelines and laws – such as the rule of six, the 10pm pub curfew and wearing masks in enclosed spaces.
A small number of towns and cities could be placed immediately into tier three, which will require much tougher restrictions.
MPs across the North have complained the current system of local lockdowns is confusing and sometimes arbitrary. They are also demanding an exit strategy.
Boris Johnson acknowledged yesterday it was still too early to tell if the plethora of recent restrictions was taking effect.
He said: ‘All the stuff that has come in, we’ll see whether that starts to work in driving down the virus.’
‘It’s critical our rules are clear’