Region has four areas in virus top 10

City second highest behind Leicester – but leaders say lockdown not on horizon

POLITICAL LEADERS in Yorkshire have moved to calm fears that parts of the region could face a local lockdown mirroring the restrictions in Leicester as data revealed four areas were in the top 10 for highest coronavirus infection rates nationally.

New data from Public Health England revealed yesterday that Bradford had the next highest rate of the disease per 100,000 people after Leicester, where lockdown restrictions were reimposed on Monday evening.

But the figure, 69.4 per 100,000 population, was less than half that of Leicester, which had 140.2 cases per 100,000 population, and leaders said that while people should stay vigilant, a lockdown was not on the horizon.

Bradford Council’s leader Susan Hinchcliffe said the authority would “work hard” to avoid a lockdown.

She said: “The number of people testing positive for the virus is still too high and we continue to work hard (...) to prevent infection spreading as no-one wants a second lockdown.

“As we take more and more steps towards returning to a more normal life, it’s easy to believe that Covid-19 is less of a threat to our health and the health of our family and friends. This is simply not the case.”

She added: “Don’t be conned into thinking it’s all OK now, it’s not.”

Other Yorkshire areas with higher rates included Barnsley (54.7 per 100,000), Rotherham (33.6 per 100,000), and Kirklees (30.3 per 100,000).

In Barnsley, council leaders said that up-to-date figures showed a drop in the average number of new cases for four consecutive days and they were continuing to “proactively manage

the disease locally and in line with national guidance”.

In a joint statement, Barnsley’s director for public health Julia Burrows and council leader Sir Steve Houghton said: “This is why we do not believe at this stage any further measures will need to be implemented such as the ones seen in Leicester.”

But they added: “The fact our rate has been high does mean that we ask for extra caution and vigilance.”

There had also been concern in Doncaster, but health bosses played down the risk on Tuesday.

The figures released yesterday came amid criticism that local leaders had not been given access to enough data.

The data included what are known as pillar two figures – testing data from private labs – but directors of public health said until recently they had only been receiving pillar one data, test results processed by the NHS.

Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford Labour MP Yvette Cooper said health authorities in her constituency had been trying to get hold of pillar two data but had not been able to. She tweeted: “In public health crisis, most important thing is knowing where infection is. Appalling and incomprehensible that basic info hasn’t been provided.”

In Leicester, cases jumped from 1,059 with pillar one data, to 3,216 Covid-19 cases confirmed when including pillar two figures.

But Downing Street defended the way coronavirus testing information had been shared with local authorities.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Since April detailed local data has been shared by Public Health England with local areas.

“And since June 11 an operational data dashboard was made available by NHS Digital which includes counts of local tests, total positives and test and trace data.

“It’s to give local authorities a clear picture of the statistics in their local area, it was provided to support directors of public health and councils.

“Last week we started securely sharing postcode-level testing data with all local authorities including Leicester and that data is available to them at any time.”

A further 176 deaths were recorded yesterday of people who had tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the UK total to 43,906. In Yorkshire, 2,834 people have now died, a figure which rose by three yesterday.

Don’t be conned into thinking it’s all OK now, it’s not. Bradford Council’s leader Susan Hinchcliffe