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It appears that the northeast of England will become the last area of the country to be subject to local restrictions as coronavirus cases increase.
Newcastle City Council Leader Nick Forbes said “additional and temporary” measures are being planned to prevent another total shutdown.
He said he expected Health Secretary Matt Hancock to make an announcement tomorrow morning.
The Chronicle Live website reported that the measures would include a 10 p.m. curfew at pubs, restaurants and other licensed venues.
He also said that people will be prohibited from socializing with people outside of their home.
Other restrictions that he said needed to be announced but had not yet been confirmed include people who are told not to go on vacation with different homes and spectators who do not attend sports venues.
He said home care visits will be limited to essential visitors, and people will be advised to avoid public transportation at peak times, except for essential trips, and to avoid carpooling.
Forbes tweeted: “Some additional temporary restrictions are being planned to avoid another total lockdown.”
A Twitter user asked when the announcement would be made, adding that “uncertainty creates a lot of anxiety in people.”
He replied: “We are awaiting confirmation from the Government on the final version of the regulation; I expect an announcement from the Secretary of Health tomorrow at 11 am.”
The restrictions will reportedly apply to Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, County Durham and Sunderland, which have seen increases in cases, based on the latest weekly rates.
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Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said a “full briefing” will be held tomorrow before the measures go into effect at midnight.
He told ITV’s Robert Peston program: “The number of cases has increased rapidly in many parts of the country, but particularly in the Northeast, so the decision was made to impose more restrictions there.
“And a full announcement will be made tomorrow, so people who live in that part of the country should be careful about that. And the measures will come into play at midnight on Thursday night.
“Therefore, during the course of the day, a full report will be made available to everyone, including the boards and the business community.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Welfare said: “We constantly monitor infection rates across the country and keep all measures under review in consultation with local leaders.
“Any changes to local restrictions will be announced in the usual way.”
The latest figures show that Newcastle has seen a sharp increase in its weekly rate, from 51.2 to 64.1, with 194 new cases in the seven days to September 13.
It comes after local measures such as Greater Manchester and Birmingham have been put in place in an attempt to address the rising infection rates.
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