‘Urgent action being taken to prevent need for local lockdown’

SOUTH Gloucestershire is only two more coronavirus cases a day away from potential government intervention - one step before lockdown.

Director of public health Sara Blackmore told councillors and local NHS and care chiefs on Monday that the district had 46 new cases over the previous seven days, taking its rate to 16 per 100,000 residents.

That is higher than the average for the region and the wider South West but lower than the overall rate in England which is currently at about 38.

The current trigger point for coming to the Government’s attention with the prospect of Whitehall imposing restrictive measures locally is 20 per 100,000, which in South Gloucestershire equals 60 a week - only 14 more than the current level.

But Ms Blackmore said her team had a firm grip of the data, knew where Covid-19 cases were happening and that urgent action was being taken to contain any local outbreaks, so she was hopeful that the area would not be put into a local lockdown in the immediate future.

She told the virtual meeting that the local outbreak management plan, which all councils are required to have to respond to pockets of or spikes in coronavirus, contained “clear triggers when we want to take additional action”.