Area escapes local lockdown - but map shows why that could change
GROWING CONCERN RISING RATES OF INFECTION COULD LEAD TO TOUGHER RESTRICTIONS
NORTHERN Lincolnshire has escaped a local lockdown but new figures show the area is dangerously close to tougher restrictions. Both North and North East Lincolnshire were yesterday placed in the lowest tier in the Government’s new lockdown system.
All of northern Lincolnshire is in the “medium” alert level - which will cover most of the country - consisting of the current national measures, which came into force on September 25.
This includes the “rule of six” and the closure of pubs and restaurants at 10pm.
But there is growing concern rising rates of coronavirus infection in both areas could be leading the region into tougher restrictions. In North East Lincolnshire the seven day rate has risen above 100 cases per 100,000 people and in North Lincolnshire 125 per 100,000. Across the two areas, there have been more than 400 new cases in the week up to October 9. Senior Government advisers have now classified both as areas of concern because of the rapid rise in cases. This means that unless the acceleration in cases drops or stalls, northern Lincolnshire could be affected by tougher lockdown rules and moved into the “high alert” state where the main change is people not being able to mix with other households indoors.
In official government charts released on Monday, North and North East Lincolnshire are both included in the dark brown areas where the acceleration of Covid cases is highest.
Dark brown indicates a rate change of more than 40 cases per 100,000 between September 23-19 and September 30 to October 6.
It is these rates which have triggered the move to the new system of lockdowns as cases rise rapidly across northern England and the
Midlands. Dark brown covered areas ranging from Liverpool, which has been placed in the highest level of lockdown, to Lancashire, large areas of Yorkshire, the East Midlands and northern Lincolnshire. Presenting the slides, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, the Government’s deputy chief medical officer, said: “The dark brown areas indicate the latest data on where things are heating up and dark brown clearly means things are heating up. You can see that the reach of the dark brown colours is further south into a greater land mass across England.” Professor Van-Tam said the rate had even deteriorated since Friday when he last presented the slides. He said: “The brown chart had not extended that far south. So it has changed in just a matter of a few days and that is clearly of concern to me.”
Mr Van Tam also said the highest cases were currently among 16 to 29-year-olds but there was now an “incremental creep” into the next age band up, 30-44.
He said he expected that to continue in two or three weeks into the 45-59s followed by the vulnerable 60+ age range.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to MPs in Parliament on Monday when he introduced a three-tier system of local Covid alert levels in England.
He confirmed the levels will be set at medium, high, and very high and says this new system will be simpler and standardised. Speaking later at a Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson defended the new measures saying a “balanced approach” was needed to tackle the virus, stating he did not support another national lockdown. He said: “I think many people would think that was extreme and would do a great deal of extra harm
to our economy. “We don’t want to go down that extreme route right now.” Mr Johnson said he could not support the other side of the argument, of not having measures to stop the virus, as “all the maths is brutal, it would lead to too many fatalities”. England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said the notion that restrictions can be imposed “without causing harm is an illusion”.
He told the Downing Street press conference: “We’re going to have to do more, that’s the whole point of what the Prime Minister has just announced, and probably in some areas significantly more.
“The balancing act here, and in a sense that’s reflected by the fact the Chancellor and I are standing here, is doing things which pull down the
virus to the point which the R goes down below one but with a minimal impact on the economy that you can get away with.
“But none of us have any illusions about this and I would like to be really clear about this because I think we should not have any illusions. “The idea that we can do this without causing harm is an illusion.
“It is a balancing act between two harms: a harm for society and the economy on the one hand and a harm for health on the other hand.”
The “high” alert level was introduced for many of the places already subject to lockdown restrictions but they will now be consistent across the country. The “very high” alert level will apply where transmission rates are causing the greatest concern, based on an assessment of all the available data and the local situation.
This includes higher cases among older and more at-risk age groups, as well as the growth rate, hospital admis
sions and other factors.
In these areas, the government will set a baseline of prohibiting social mixing indoors and in private gardens, with the “rule of six” allowed in open public spaces like parks and beaches. Pubs and bars must close, and can only remain open where they operate as if they were a restaurant - which means serving substantial meals, like a main lunchtime or evening meal. They may only serve alcohol as part of such a meal.
People will be advised not to travel in and out of these areas. Merseyside is one of the areas which has been placed in Tier 3.
The government is working with local leaders in Tier 3 regions on how individual areas should go beyond these measures, which may include the closure of gyms, casinos, and leisure centres.
Non-essential retail, schools and universities will remain open in all levels.