‘I have no doubt residents will rise to the challenge of this second lockdown’
COVID infection rates are continuing to climb across the Staffordshire Moorlands – as England prepares to enter a second national lockdown tomorrow.
The weekly rate in the district has increased from 220.5 per 100,000 population to 314.9.
Newcastle has once again emerged as the North Staffordshire hotspot after overtaking Stoke-on-trent, with a weekly case rate of 357.7 per 100,000 population for the seven days to October 29, up from 263.4 per 100,000 over the previous week.
The city’s weekly rate has risen from 285.5 to 340.5.
The latest figures yesterday showed that another 35 people had tested positive for coronavirus in the Staffordshire Moorlands, which takes the total to 1,361.
It has also emerged that more than 230 patients with Covid-19 are now being treated at Staffordshire’s main hospital trust, and there have been six more deaths.
University Hospitals of North Midlands ( UHNM) NHS Trust is currently looking after 235 Covidpositive patients at its Royal Stoke and County Hospital sites following a ‘significant increase’ in recent days.
That is nearly 50 per cent more than the first wave peak of 161, and includes 20 patients in critical care.
All areas of North Staffordshire are currently subject to tier two coronavirus restrictions, which ban people from socialising indoors with other households.
It is too early to say if these measures are having any impact on Covid infections, and they will soon be superseded by the new national restrictions.
The month-long lockdown, which comes into force tomorrow, will mean the enforced closure of all non-essential retail, along with pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and barbers.
But unlike the first lockdown, schools, colleges and universities will remain open.
People will only be able to leave their home for specific reasons, including work – if they cannot work from home – education, exercise, to shop for essentials, for medical reasons or to escape harm or to provide care.
The clinically vulnerable and those over 60 will be asked to minimise their contact with others.
The lockdown will come into effect less than a week after Staffordshire joined Stoke-on-trent as a tier two ‘high alert’ area.
Alan White, above, leader of Staffordshire County Council, believes residents will rise to this new challenge, and said the authority would be lobbying government for further support for stricken businesses.
He said: “We have seen how quickly cases have risen in Staffordshire, and after being put into high alert over the weekend, we now find ourselves joining the rest of the country in a second national lockdown on Thursday.
“I know from earlier in this year that Staffordshire people are incredibly resilient. Lockdowns aren’t easy.
“We must do everything we can to look after each other, stop the spread of infection, and try and get these restrictions lifted as early as possible. I have no doubt that our residents will once again rise to this challenge.
“I also want to acknowledge how hard this will be for our local businesses, who were just getting back on their feet after the first lockdown in March.
“This lockdown will be especially hard for the tourism industry in our county, which relies on seasonal income and was already hit hard earlier in the year.
“Our economy has already felt the effects of the first lockdown keenly, and will no doubt bear the brunt of a second lockdown too.
“To this end, I welcome the Government’s commitment to extend the furlough scheme, and we will also be lobbying for extra support to our businesses and doing everything we can as a county to help them through this worrying time.
“This second lockdown is a serious wake-up call. It shows that Covid-19 hasn’t simply gone away, how quickly it can spread and take hold in communities, and the extreme measures the government is prepared to take to save vulnerable people and protect the NHS.”
MPS will vote to approve the lockdown tomorrow. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed in the House of Commons that the new measures would expire on December 2, and any extension would need another vote.
Mr Johnson told MPS the lockdown was needed because of the ‘existential threat’ facing the NHS due to rapidly increasing Covid-related hospital admissions and patient loads.
The Prime Minister confirmed the furlough scheme would continue throughout November, while the support offered to self-employed people would be doubled.
But Labour leader Keir Starmer criticised Mr Johnson for ignoring the advice of his own scientists and acting too late, meaning the lockdown ‘will be longer than it needed to be’, with a higher human cost.
Mr Starmer, though, said Labour would support the Government’s proposal.