Liverpool lockdown confirmed... but still time to flatten curve in London

Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Warrington are also under the new measures  Experts appeal to every Londoner to “make a difference” to prevent virus spread

Liverpool and three major northern towns were ordered into social lockdown today.

More than a million people will be banned by law from mixing indoors with different households from this weekend, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced in the Commons.

The new measures affect Liverpool — with a population of 550,000 and another 900,000 in the wider Merseyside region — Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Warrington.

Mr Hancock said the rules would be the same as those announced earlier in the week for the north east of England .

He told the Commons: "We recommend against all social-mixing between people in different households. We will bring in regulations, as we have in the north east, to prevent in law social mixing between people in different households in all settings except outdoor public spaces like parks and outdoor hospitality."

Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram admitted: “We do know and understand the Government has to do something — all of our figures are going badly in the wrong direction.”

Shoppers walk through Liverpool city centre
AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Professor Kevin Fenton, London’s regional director of Public Health England, said there was still time to flatten the curve in the capital and appealed to every Londoner to “make a difference”.

“Cases of coronavirus in London have been steadily increasing in recent weeks and we are now at a tipping point in our efforts to limit the spread of the virus in the city,” he warned.

“Londoners still hold the key to reducing infection rates and lessening the impact of any second wave by making a continued conscious effort to consider our movements and behaviour.”

London researchers today raised hopes that the pandemic is growing less rapidly. The Imperial College React study estimated that the R reproduction rate across England had fallen from 1.7 last month to 1.06, according to random swab tests taken in the nine days to Saturday.

Jeremy Hunt, chairman of the Commons health select committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the research “should give us all some cause for hope” .

Environment Secretary George Eustice said the findings were “encouraging” but warned there was “no room for complacency”. The study said London remained in fourth place nationally in terms of the prevalence of the virus, with an estimated one in 200 Londoners testing positive.

Researchers found 37 positive cases out of 7,498 Londoners randomly tested — a rate of 0.49 per cent. This was a five-fold increase on the 0.10 per rate found in the capital in the previous round of the study.

Announcing the news for new restrictions in England, Mr Hancock said there was evidence that the Government’s restrictive measures “were beginning to work” and that the more people follow the rules, the quicker Liverpool and the north east can get back on their feet.

Coronavirus: Pubs and Restaurants 10pm Curfew

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“I understand how much of an imposition this is. I want rules like this to stay in place for as short a time as possible, I’m sure we all do," he said.

“The study published today shows us hope that together we can crack this and the more people follow the rules and reduce their social contact, the quicker we can get Liverpool and the North East back on their feet.”

It came as the chief executive of one of London’s biggest NHS hospital trusts revealed concerns that patients being admitted with Covid were sicker than before — and urged Londoners to respect the rules to curb the virus.

Professor Tim Orchard, who heads Imperial College Healthcare NHS trust, which runs five hospitals including St Mary’s and Charing Cross, said: “It does feel as though London at the moment is sitting poised.

“If we can pull back around … the level of community transmission, we may well avoid very significant hospital admissions. If we can’t, we are going to see an increase. For this week, we have seen a significant increase in patients — not large numbers, but a number of people who are really quite sick.” Yesterday there were 12 patients at Imperial with Covid, including two on ventilators in intensive care.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wants the Government to review the 10pm curfew 
POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Barts Health, the capital’s biggest trust, had 52 inpatients with Covid, 11 of which were in intensive care.

Hospital sources said patients were now being admitted because of Covid — unlike the first wave, where the virus was often discovered by chance after admission for another illness.

It warned of “extensive clustering … in and around London” and in the North West and Midlands. Black and Asian people were twice as likely as white people to have Covid.

The Imperial study , regarded as among the best at measuring the scale of the pandemic because it includes people without symptoms, estimates that case numbers in London are doubling every 9.7 days. London is behind the North West (0.86 per cent), North East (0.78 per cent) and Yorkshire and the Humber (0.54 per cent) in terms of the prevalence of Covid. Nationally, the study estimated that 411,000 people in England have the virus at present. The R number in London was estimated at 1.52, the third highest nationally.

The report concluded: “Although there is evidence of a recent deceleration in the epidemic, current levels of prevalence will inevitably result in additional hospitalisations and mortality in coming weeks.

“A redoubling of public health efforts is needed to return to a declining phase of the epidemic.” Professor Paul Elliott, who leads the React studies, said: “While our latest findings show some early evidence that the growth of new cases may have slowed, suggesting efforts to control the infection are working, the prevalence of infection is the highest that we have recorded to date.

“This reinforces the need for protective measures to limit the spread of the disease and the public’s adherence to these, which will be vital to minimise further significant illness and loss of life from Covid-19.”

Mayor Sadiq Khan today called for the Government to review the “unintended consequences” of the 10pm closure of pubs and restaurants, citing “increased social mixing”.

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