NEWCASTLE GETS ‘7 DAYS GRACE’ ON RISING VIRUS INFECTIONS...
... AND THEY’RE BRINGING IN MARSHALS TO CRACKDOWN ON RULE-BREAKERS SEE PAGES 5&6
STAFFORDSHIRE’S coronavirus hotspot has been given a ‘week’s grace’ before a potential upgrade to its Covid alert level, its MP says.
Newcastle is currently classed as a tier one ‘medium alert’ area, along with the rest of Staffordshire. But its infection rate is continuing to rise and is now the highest in the county.
The latest figures from Public Health England show the seven-day rate has increased to 142.9 cases per 100,000.
A total of 185 cases were confirmed in the seven days up to October 10.
Aaron Bell, Newcastle’s MP, says the borough was being considered for an upgrade to tier two – or ‘high alert’ – which would mean a ban on indoor mixing between different households.
But after being lobbied by local MPS and councils, the government decided to keep Newcastle at tier one, although this decision could be reviewed next week.
London, parts of Derbyshire, and other areas in England placed into tier two on Thursday, with one of these areas, Chesterfield, having a very similar weekly infection rate to Newcastle.
Mr Bell said that if infections increased further in Newcastle there was a real possibility of a change in its alert status and new restrictions for residents – potentially as early as next week.
He said: “They were looking at Newcastle and other parts of Staffordshire for tier two – if it had happened they would have announced it on Friday. But the MPS, and the borough and county councils, argued that a lot of the new infections were linked to the university. So we’ve essentially been given a week’s grace.
“We also argued that it wouldn’t make sense for Newcastle to be tier two on its own, with Stoke-on-trent still at tier one.
“For example, if people can’t go for a drink in Newcastle town centre they’d just have to go to Penkhull. So I think North Staffordshire has to be considered as a whole, based on the physical geography of the area rather than just local authority areas.
“They don’t just look at infection rates. They also consider whether people in high risk groups are being exposed. So far in Newcastle it is mostly younger people who are getting infected.
“But if Newcastle’s rate got up to 200 per 100,000 we would be put into tier two, and I think that would be the right decision.”
All areas of North Staffordshire now have a weekly Covid infection rate in excess of 100 cases per 100,000.
The Public Health England figures show Stoke-on-trent and the Staffordshire Moorlands now have rates of 106.9 and 102.6 respectively. The city recorded 274 cases over the week, while there were 101 in the Moorlands.
Cheshire East, the only local area in the tier two ‘high alert’ category, has also seen its seven-day rate rise further to 164 cases per 100,000. It had 630 cases over the week.
Stafford’s weekly rate is 127.5, with 175 cases being recorded in the borough.
Across Staffordshire, only Lichfield and Cannock Chase now have rates below 100 per 100,000.
Nottingham remains the worst hit area in England, with a seven-day rate of 954.9 cases per 100,000. This equates to nearly one in every 100 people in the city testing positive for coronavirus in one week.