Local lockdown restrictions to come into force across North East

Local lockdown restrictions are set to come into force across the North East following a spike in coronavirus cases.

The measures are expected to include a 10pm curfew on licensed premises including pubs and restaurants, according to reports.

People are also to be banned from meeting anyone outside their household under the new rules due to come into force on Thursday evening.

Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, County Durham and Sunderland are all said to be included in the lockdown measures.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told ITV's Peston: "The number of cases has been rising rapidly in many parts of the country, but in particular in the North East, and so a decision has been made to impose further restrictions there.

"And a full announcement will be made tomorrow and so people living in that part of the country should watch out for that.

"And the measures will come into play at midnight on Thursday evening.

"So, over the course of the day a full briefing will be made available to everybody including the councils and business community."

Council leaders have expressed concerns about a rise in Covid-19 infections.

Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes said on Twitter that “additional, temporary” measures are being planned to prevent another full lockdown.

He said he expected Health Secretary Matt Hancock to make an announcement on Thursday morning.

Earlier a spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care 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 most recent figures show Newcastle to have recorded a sharp increase in its weekly rate, up from 51.2 to 64.1, with 194 new cases in the seven days to September 13.

It comes after people in England were banned from socialising in groups of more than six.

The tightening of restrictions followed a sharp rise in coronavirus infections across the UK, with almost 3,000 new cases confirmed every day, most days last week.

Nearly 4,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK in the last 24 hours.

As of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 3,991 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK. Overall, 378,219 cases have been confirmed.

It also said a further 20 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday. This brings the UK total to 41,684.

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