North targeted in bid to ‘curb virus’
LIVERPOOL, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough have become the latest areas subjected to local coronavirus lockdowns but ministers said there was a “small hope” that progress was being made in slowing the spread of Covid-19 cases.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there were “early signs” that restrictions imposed in the past month were beginning to have an impact.
But announcing the new restrictions, he said the second peak in coronavirus infections was “highly localised” and in some areas it was “spreading fast”.
In Liverpool, there are 268 cases per 100,000 people, he told MPS, so action was needed. The measures announced for the Liverpool city region, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough follow similar restrictions imposed in the North East earlier this week.
Downing Street said they would come into force tomorrow morning at one minute past midnight.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called for a “rapid review” of the local lockdown strategy and urged the Government to consider whether the 10pm curfew should remain.
In a Commons statement, Mr Hancock said: “We recommend against all social mixing between people in different households.
“We will bring in regulations, as we have in the North East, to prevent in law social mixing between people in different households in all settings, except outdoor public spaces like parks and outdoor hospitality.
“We also recommend that people should not attend professional or amateur sporting events as spectators in the areas that are affected. We recommend that people only visit care homes in exceptional circumstances, and there will be guidance against all but essential travel – essential travel of course includes going to work or school.”
Mr Hancock said local leaders had been consulted and there will be a £7 million package of support for the councils affected, which the Labour mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson described as “nowhere near enough”.
He added stricter measures in Bolton would be eased to be in line with the rest of Greater Manchester following pleas from local leaders to allow hospitality venues to open under the same conditions as the rest of the region, such as table service and a 10pm curfew.
Since local lockdowns came into force in Denbighshire, Flintshire, Conwy and Wrexham in North Wales at 6pm last night, more than a third of the UK population is now subject to some form of extra controls.
Mr Hancock highlighted the findings of the React study, which he said offered some indication that measures were working.
The UK Government said that, as of 9am yesterday, there had been a further 6,914 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus. The Government also said a further 59 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of yesterday. This brings the UK total to 42,202.