Areas hit by high rates of virus must accept tough restrictions

THE MPs from parts of Britain less seriously affected by coronavirus might have used a little more subtlety in their plea to Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham when they wrote him a letter urging him to get a grip on the virus as it affects his city to avoid a national lockdown.

But while their method may have lacked sensitivity at this difficult time, their sentiments are broadly correct. We understand former Labour minister Mr Burnham’s concerns at the impact of a local lockdown in Manchester if the status of the city and its surroundings is lifted to Tier Three – the highest under current rules.

But in refusing to accept the Government’s efforts to bring the pandemic under control in regions with the highest rates of infection, the Manchester Mayor is in danger of playing politics with people’s lives. And it is clear that if we don’t bear down on the disease in those areas where rates are highest, the risk that more Draconian measures will be needed more widely is a real one.

If Mr Burnham is acting as he is in support of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s call for a national lockdown for two or three weeks – a socalled circuit-breaker – then in our view he is misguided. For one thing, if such a measure is needed, then it is needed in Greater Manchester as elsewhere. That undermines any legitimacy that Mr Burnham might have in stalling its implementation.

And secondly the effect of a national lockdown, even for just two or three weeks, would be unnecessarily damaging in areas that don’t appear to need one.

That includes the South West, which, despite the fact that cases are rising, remains among those areas of the country with the lowest levels of infection and the lowest rates of hospital admissions or deaths.

There is no room for complacency and the rule of six, the closure of hospitality venues at 10pm and the other measures, including face-mask wearing, social distancing and reducing contact with others all need to be rigorously adhered to, here as well as anywhere else.

But, as the Prime Minister made clear in his press conference last Friday, to stop businesses in Cornwall, for example, from continuing to trade would be unnecessarily harsh when the risks from them continuing to operate are far lower than is the case in many other parts of the country.

We do not want this issue to become a serious point of division in the country. The South West has done its bit in the battle against Covid-19, just like everywhere else. It opened up for visitors, for one thing, once lockdown ended after the first wave. It has suffered economically because of its reliance on tourism more than other parts of the country. Its people stuck to the rules.

The Government can impose restrictions on areas of the country where it believes tighter regulations are needed even without the support of local leaders. But it deserves credit for attempting – successfully, in most areas – to win community backing.

At time of writing, Mr Burnham is still holding out and firing pot-shots at MPs who are putting him under pressure. That, with respect, is not helping to reduce the spread of the virus.