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Leeds and the rest of West Yorkshire will soon enter Level 3, but when has not been decided, with more talks scheduled for tomorrow. LeedsLive understands.
This morning, Leeds City Council held a briefing on the latest city data, which recorded an infection rate of 420.6 cases per 100,000 in the seven days to October 22, compared to 382.2 for the last week.
An aide said the dire situation at Leeds hospitals, believed to be 98% full, was the main factor in wanting to place the entire county on the strictest set of coronavirus restrictions.
Talks between the council leaders of the five West Yorkshire local authorities (Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield) will take place tomorrow with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
A source said that while a decision is likely not going to be made today regarding Level 3 for Leeds, a concrete announcement will definitely come at some point soon. However, it is not clear exactly when.
Follow our live updates on Level 3 talks on our dedicated blog here
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust admitted they now have more people in the hospital now than at the peak of the pandemic in April, with 263 patients in their beds testing positive for Covid-19, including 22 hospital in intensive care.
LeedsLive understands that city hospitals are 98% full, compared to 60% in April.
Staff are said to have been doing more elective surgeries to clear the backlog caused by the pandemic and as a result more people in the hospital are using more beds, fueling concerns that more clinical staff will be needed in the units intensive care.
Talks between West Yorkshire and the government about placing the county on Level 3, in which pubs and bars that do not serve food would be forced to close, have been underway for several weeks.
South Yorkshire, Lancashire, the region of the city of Liverpool, Greater Manchester and Warrington have already been placed on Level 3, while the BBC reported that Nottinghamshire will enter the highest alert level at 00.01 on Friday.
The restrictions mean that people are prohibited from mixing in any indoor environment and in outdoor venues, including private gardens and beer gardens.
Kirklees political leaders are resisting the decision to place their municipality on Level 3, saying such a move would be “devastating.”
In a statement last night, the Kirklees Council Outbreak Control Board said: “The increase in infection rates in Kirklees and the pressure it is putting on the NHS is something we must take seriously, and we must do everything possible. to improve this situation so that we can save lives. However, we do not believe that Level 3 restrictions are the best way to do this.
“Closing our pubs and bars will have a devastating impact on our economy and people’s livelihoods, and we have seen no evidence that this directly impacts infection rates.
“Instead we need to continue the work that we are doing locally, on the ground, in our communities. We are already seeing positive results from this work, with Kirklees now having the lowest rates in West Yorkshire. We are urging the government to give us more resources to build on this.
“We are concerned about the mental health of the people in Kirklees, many of whom have been under local restrictions since July. Preventing people from visiting each other’s gardens will be a major blow during what is already a very difficult time.”
However, the source said that while his resistance may be behind the slow progress of the talks, Kirklees ‘figures were not that far from Leeds’ and would catch up in a week.
Four of the five councils in West Yorkshire are experiencing infection rates in excess of 400, and Kirklees is not far behind, they added.
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has been contacted for comment.
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