POLICE WARN OF SWIFT ACTION OVER COVID BREACHES

POLICE in Bristol have warned residents against social gatherings in the coming months.

A crackdown on residents in breach of coronavirus regulations will be put in place in the final months of 2020.

Bristol and South Gloucestershire on Saturday saw record increases in coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day.

The city’s total increased by 265 and South Gloucestershire’s by 106. The previous highest daily surges came on Friday, when Bristol had 255 new cases and South Gloucestershire 100.

In comparison, Bristol was recording around 20 to 30 cases per day in September.

Bristol city centre currently has the highest number of cases of Covid-19 in the region, with 149 confirmed cases in the area.

Infections of coronavirus are spreading faster in the South West than anywhere else in the UK, the latest figures show.

Inspector Rob Cheeseman of Avon and Somerset Constabulary said in a statement: “As we head into what could be a very difficult winter, we’ll be moving more swiftly to enforcement because we cannot allow blatant and flagrant breaches of the restrictions to take place and jeopardise the selfless efforts our communities have put in over the past seven months.”

He added: “The coronavirus legislation is in place to save lives and stop the spread of this dangerous virus. Our approach throughout the pandemic has been to engage with the public and explain the restrictions in place, encourage them to comply and enforce whenever necessary.”

The warning comes after the Jack of Diamonds club on Old Market was closed after failing to keep to coronavirus restrictions, while inspectors also found the Old Market club was selling alcohol without a licence, and staying open past the Government’s 10pm curfew.

The events venue had no Track and Trace system in place and social distancing and face covering guidelines were not being adhered to.

Our region’s R rate has now been the highest in the country for three consecutive weeks.

The growth rate, which reflects how quickly the number of infections are changing day by day, fell slightly to between +5 to +9 per cent. This compares to last week’s +6 and +10 per cent.

And it’s almost double the rate for England, which has dipped this week to +3 to +5 per cent. Our region’s R rate has remained between 1.3 and 1.6.

This means that on average, every 10 people who contract the virus will go on to infect between 13 and 16 other people.

R nationally has dropped to between 1.2 to 1.4, this compares to last week’s 1.3 and 1.5.

The government stresses that the R rate is only an estimate and “should be regarded as a guide to the general trend, rather than a description of the epidemic state”.

Its guidance states: “Care should be taken when interpreting estimates of R and the growth rate.

“A significant amount of variability across a region due to a local outbreak may mean that a single average value does not accurately reflect the way infections are changing throughout that region.

“It is SAGE’s expert view, however, that this week’s estimates are reliable, and that there is still widespread growth of the epidemic across the country.”

We cannot allow blatant and flagrant breaches of the restrictions to take place and jeopardise the selfless efforts our communities have put in Inspector Rob Cheeseman