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Major new Covid-19 restrictions are needed across the Northeast to prevent a “terrible” repeat of a full shutdown, public health officials say.
Local health chiefs have spoken out after it was confirmed that seven areas will be subject to new restrictions starting Friday: Newcastle, Gateshead, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland and County Durham.
The changes include a ban on meeting with people outside your own home or the bubble of support in private homes and gardens, plus a 10 p.m. curfew in pubs, restaurants and other entertainment venues.
Professor Eugene Milne, Newcastle’s director of public health, said the restrictions were aimed at slowing the resurgence of the virus before it’s too late and ensuring “as much freedom, for the majority of people, for as long as possible.”
He told a Newcastle City Futures Board meeting that there had been a “significant escalation” of Covid-19 cases across the region in the last two weeks and infection rates are increasing in older age groups. , as well as in younger people.
Professor Milne also tried to explain why all seven districts were included in the new restriction zone, when only four are on the government’s Covid-19 watch list: Newcastle, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland.
He said: “Although we are a city, we also have very close relationships with our neighbors. We have daily trips across borders, we have people moving between those different areas all the time for personal and business reasons.
“On that basis, it doesn’t make sense for us to act independently on these things, it makes sense for us to act together.
“Over the weekend we had extensive discussions about what would be the most appropriate way forward and the strong feeling that the directors of public health and the executive directors have, and that they recommended to the leaders of the councils, is that now we are in a position that is better than at the beginning of the first wave of the pandemic.
“In that, we have the opportunity to take measures to try to reduce the increase of the virus and contain it before it gets into the terrible situation we had during the first part of the pandemic.
“We know, not only from that experience, but also from studies of large past epidemics, that an action of this type is more effective in terms of shortening the time during which that action should be taken and also limiting the degree to which it should be implemented. . . “
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that Sunderland now had a “worrisome” Covid-19 rate of 103 new positive cases per 100,000 people each week, with the number exceeding 70 in Newcastle, Gateshead and South Tyneside.
Professor Milne said that much of the spread of the virus has been caused by people leaving hospitality venues, staff moving to and from work there, in groups of people congregating at house parties or food for take outdoors.
Food and beverage venues are now limited to table service only, while takeout meals will be forced to operate only with delivery after 10pm.
People are also advised not to socialize with people outside their homes or bubbles in all public places, to only use public transportation when essential, and to go on vacation only within their own home or bubble of support.
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Alice Wiseman, Gateshead’s top public health official, added that she had seen a five-fold increase in cases in recent weeks and that the new restrictions “should be enough to make a real difference,” after having analyzed what It has happened in other parts of the country that have been affected by similar measures.
Amanda Healey, Durham County Council Public Health Director, added: “This decision has not been made lightly, but we must remain focused on protecting the health of all of our residents.
“Our best hope of achieving this is to take a shared approach, working with every community, resident and business in Tyneside, Wearside, Northumberland and Durham County to control any further outbreaks of the virus. This is at the core of our decision making.
“Each local authority is experiencing an increase in cases and they all have infection rates above 20 per 100,000.
“For some, it is much higher and we know that if we do not act now, even stricter measures will be needed and imposed on us, while if we act quickly and work together, we have an opportunity to reduce and shorten this phase of the pandemic.
“These new restrictions will help reduce transmissions in key settings, but only if we follow them at all times in accordance with the ‘Hands, face, space’ public health guide.”
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