Virus situation in Manchester ‘grave’ says PM

Boris Johnson has urged leaders in Greater Manchester to “reconsider and engage constructively” over Tier 3 restrictions, but said he will intervene if an agreement is not reached.

The prime minister said the situation in Greater Manchester was “grave” as he pressured Mayor Andy Burnham to agree to new rules, adding that time was “of the essence”.

In a Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson said local measures were necessary as he sought to avoid another national lockdown, but added he “cannot rule anything out”.

Of Greater Manchester, he said: “On recent trends, in just over two weeks there will be more Covid patients in intensive care than at the peak of the first wave so I urge the mayor to reconsider and engage constructively.

“Each day that passes before action is taken means more people will go to hospital, more people will end up in intensive care and tragically, more people will die.

“Of course, if agreement cannot be reached, I will need to intervene in order to protect Manchester’s hospitals and save the lives of Manchester’s residents.

“But our efforts would be so much more effective if we work together.”

It comes after the government announced a further 1.5 million people in England will be put under the toughest coronavirus restrictions this weekend as Lancashire moves into Tier 3.

The government said the move was to stem the county’s “unrelenting rise” in Covid-19 cases.

Pubs and bars across Lancashire will close unless they serve food and alcohol as part of a sit-down meal from today, while stricter restrictions on socialising will also come into force.

People will not be able to mix with others in any indoor setting or private garden, as well as in most outdoor hospitality venues.

Casinos, bingo halls, bookmakers, betting shops, soft play areas and adult gaming centres will be forced to shut, while car boot sales are also banned.

But gyms can remain open despite being closed in the Liverpool City Region – the only other area of England under Tier 3.

Highlighting that cases in Greater Manchester doubled in the last nine days, Mr Johnson said: “Some have argued we should introduce a national lockdown instead of targeted local action, and I disagree.

“Closing businesses in Cornwall , where transmission is low, will not cut transmission in Manchester.”

Mr Johnson said he did not want to go back to the “bad old days” when schools closed and people had to stay at home, and stressed that by working together the spread of Covid could be controlled.

Earlier, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which advises government, said the reproduction number, or R value, of Covid transmission for the UK was now up to between 1.3 and 1.5.

Sage said there had been no change to the pandemic’s course in the last month, suggesting measures like the rule of six were not effective. But England’ s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said the R was not growing as fast as it would be without the measures people were following.

Nevertheless, he said he agreed with England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty that “baseline” Tier 3 measures on their own would not be enough to cut the number of infections.

The new restrictions for Lancashire, which will be reviewed every fortnight, cover all parts of the county.

The Labour leader of South Ribble Borough Council in the county, Paul Foster, said local leaders were “blackmailed and forced” by the government to agree to the terms of the new restrictions, although an extra £ 30 million of funding was secured.

The Labour leader of Blackpool Council, Lynn Williams, said: “This is not what I wanted for Blackpool. We had no option but to ultimately agree this.

“Had we not done so, we would have been placed in Tier 3 with no money and no support measures.”

The Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford.

ADDRESS: Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will have to act if civic leaders in Manchester do not agree to impose Tier 3 regulations.