Southport, Sefton and the rest of the Liverpool City Region are under new Tier Three Covid-19 safety restrictions from today (Wednesday 14 October 2020), the most severe in England.
The Government and local council leaders have agreed the need for new measures following a sharp rise in coronavirus cases and hospital admissions in the Merseyside area.
From today, the Liverpool City Region, including the local authority districts of Sefton, Halton, Knowsley, St Helens and Wirral, as well as the City of Liverpool, have been placed on a ‘Very High’ level.
Under the country’s new three tiered Local Covid Alert Level system, the Very High alert level applies in the areas of greatest concern.
While a number of businesses have been ordered to close, many businesses and other venues still remain open, including shops, schools, places of worship, restaurants, hairdressers, play centres, beauty salons, bars that serve main meals, and others.
Read More: Southport BID urges people to enjoy shopping and dining in town as new rules come in
The new restrictions include:
- Pubs and bars will close. They can only remain open where they operate as if they were a restaurant – which means serving substantial meals, like a main lunchtime or evening meal. They may only serve alcohol as part of such a meal
- Sports facilities, leisure centres, betting shops, adult gaming centres and casinos will close
- Indoor gyms and fitness/dance studios, will undergo consultation over opening restrictions with local authority
- Wedding receptions will not be permitted. Up to 15 guests for weddings and 30 for funerals
- People should try to avoid travelling outside their local area, or entering another area rated Very High other than for work, education, accessing youth services, or to meet caring responsibilities
- People should avoid staying overnight in another part of the UK if they are resident in the Liverpool City Region and avoid staying overnight in the Liverpool City Region if they are resident elsewhere
- One household / bubble in most locations, indoors and outdoors. The Rule of 6 applies in some outdoor settings like parks, public gardens, beaches and sports courts
- People encouraged to work from home where possible
- Residential Care closed to visitors unless in exceptional circumstances
- Places of worship open, subject to social distancing rules
- Registered and wraparound childcare. Supervised activities permitted in private homes. Children’s groups permitted. Childcare bubbles for under 14s.
The latest Covid-19 figures for the Liverpool City Region show Sefton among four of the Liverpool City Region areas in the top 10 most infected areas in the country.
West Lancashire, which includes Banks, halsall and Scarisbrick, has also risen into the top 10 after a sharp rise in figures.
These latest figures show the latest rate of infection per 100,000 followed by the number of new positive cases in brackets, followed by the previous week’s figures.
1- Nottingham 880.4 (2931), 510.7 (1700)
2 – Knowsley 667.5 (1007), 562.8 (849)
3 – Liverpool 635.3 (3164), 555.0 (2764)
4 – Burnley 529.7 (471), 435.2 (387)
5 – Newcastle upon Tyne 490.7 (1486), 457.7 (1386)
6 – Manchester 449.3 (2484), 583.2 (3224)
7 – Sefton 447.9 (1238), 347.7 (961)
8 – Pendle 426.7 (393), 315.9 (291)
9 – West Lancashire 423.4 (484), 266.0 (304)
10 – St Helens 420.9 (760), 343.3 (620)
The Prime Minister chaired COBRA on Monday, which was attended by Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram. COBRA confirmed the new restrictions and the PM announced these in a statement to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.
It follows a briefing earlier on Monday today by Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van Tam, Medical Director of NHS England Steve Powis and Dr Jane Eddleston, Medical Lead for the North West, where they set out the latest data on the rising infection rates across the country.
The latest figures show that the North West has around 40% of all Covid-19 cases, with an eight-fold increase in patients being admitted to hospital. Currently, 30% of the North West’s intensive care capacity is taken up with Covid-19 patients.
They warned that in four weeks’ time the North West could see more patients in intensive care than at the peak of the first wave unless action is taken.
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