Coronavirus cases have risen ‘in 19 out of 20 areas’ under local lockdown

Boris Johnson is facing pressure to introduce national restrictions as data suggests current local measures are not working.

Boris Johnson is facing fresh pressure to consider a tighter national lockdown as new data suggests local measures to contain the spread of coronavirus are not working.

An analysis by Labour found infection rates have risen in 19 of the 20 areas where restrictions have been in place for two months.

A stark example includes Burnley in Lancashire, where there’s been a 20-fold increase in cases from 21 per 100,000 people to 434 per 100,000.

In Bolton, Greater Manchester, the rate of infection was 20 per 100,000 when restrictions, such as the ban on households mixing, were fist imposed, compared to 255 now.

Leicester, the first city in the UK to face a local lockdown, is the only area that saw a dip in infections, according to the research.

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Although the data shows the virus rate has risen from 118 to 133 since restrictions were first imposed, Labour says it did fall in the interim – and was higher just before the lockdown began on June 29.

The Labour party unveiled the list as leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded answers from Mr Johnson on why restrictions were not working at a tense PMQs. .

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘The Prime Minister can’t explain why an area goes into restrictions, he can’t explain what the different restrictions are, and he can’t explain how restrictions end.

‘This is getting ridiculous.’

The opposition leader questioned the way the measures had been introduced after it was suggested by colleague Jonathan Ashworth that Tory heartlands were being favoured.

Sir Keir said: ‘In the Prime Minister’s own local authority Hillingdon, today there are 62 cases per 100,000 yet no local restrictions. But in 20 local areas across England, restrictions were imposed when infection rates were much lower.
In Kirklees it was just 29 per 100,000.’

Mr Johnson hinted that tougher measures could be needed in the capital and the Midlands.

‘I wish I could pretend that everything was going to be rosy in the Midlands or indeed in London where, alas, we are also seeing infections rise,’ he said, as he called for a ‘concerted national effort’.

The Prime Minister insisted the Government would ‘continue with our package to suppress the virus not just nationally but locally and regionally as well’.

The tense debate in the House of Commons came after Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Government’s scientific advisory panel, recommended a ‘circuit breaker’ be considered on a national basis in a bid to slow the virus.

Speaking in a personal capacity, Prof Semple told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that ‘perhaps a circuit breaker a couple of weeks ago would have been a really good idea’,

He added: ‘It’s always easier to reduce an outbreak at the earlier stage than to let it run and then try to reduce it at a later stage.

‘So, yes, circuit breakers are certainly something we should be thinking about on a national basis.’

Coronavirus case numbers have risen sharply in recent weeks, with another 14,162 cases recorded today, compared to 7,108 this time last week.

The rise in cases has led to warnings from leaders of northern cities that the local lockdown restrictions are confusing and even ‘counter-productive’, as they called for new powers to tackle the resurgence.

The leaders of Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle City Councils – Judith Blake, Sir Richard Leese and Nick Forbes – joined Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson in writing to Health Secretary Matt Hancock to say they are ‘extremely concerned’ about the current situation.

They called for additional powers to punish those who break rules, for new restrictions to be developed by police, council and public health experts, and for a locally-controlled Test and Trace system.

‘We want to be clear, however, that we do not support further economic lockdowns,’ the leaders said.

The letter was sent amid reports pubs and restaurants across the north of England are on the verge of being closed.

Huge swathes of the region are already under lockdown but with no sign of cases slowing, ministers are looking at even tougher measures to stop the spread, according to ITV’s Robert Peston.

The PM is likely to face further pressure to ramp up restrictions after Scotland introduced a ban on alcohol indoors in bars, restaurants and pubs for 16 days as part of a ‘circuit breaker lockdown’.

On Tuesday Professor John Edmunds, who is advising the Government’s coronavirus response, agreed that local measures had failed in England and said more stringent national restrictions were needed to bring the pandemic under control.

‘These local restrictions that have been put in place in much of the north of England really haven’t been very effective,’ he told BBC Newsnight.

‘We need to take much more stringent measures, not just in the north of England, we need to do it countrywide, and bring the epidemic back under control.’

He said the Government’s current ‘light touch’ measures are just ‘delaying the inevitable’.

‘We will at some point put very stringent measures in place because we will have to when hospitals start to really fill up,’ he said. ‘Frankly, the better strategy is to put them in place now.’

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