By Daniel Wood
The Government has issued more details on what people can and can not do during the local lockdown.
A new, detailed statement has been released by the government, clarifying the new lockdown measures introduced in parts of West Yorkshire, after the initial statement on the new rules was released late last night, just hours before Eid al-Adha.
Kirklees, Calderdale, and Bradford have been given stricter guidelines to follow from 31st July 2020. Several other areas in the north and Leicester are affected.
The guidance from No. 10 states that “people from different households will not be allowed to meet each other indoors.”
This means that the following activities are not allowed:
- Meeting people you do not live with inside a private home or garden, except where you have formed a support bubble (or for other limited exemptions to be specified in the law).
- Visit someone else’s home or garden even if they live outside of the affected areas.
- Socialise with people you do not live with in other indoor public venues – such as pubs, restaurants, cafes, shops, places of worship, community centres, leisure and entertainment venues, or visitor attractions. You may attend these venues with people you live with (or are in a support bubble with) but should avoid interaction with others. If you run such a business, you should take steps to ensure people to do not go close to or interact with people they do not live with.
A follow-up statement from the Department of Health and Social Care then said: “Households may go to hospitality, for instance, bars and pubs, but new guidance will make clear that two households should not go to hospitality together.”
It was stated that the steps that have been taken from the Government is due to the increasing trends in the number of cases per 100,000 people in an area. Data from PHE and JBC suggested that transmission among households is a key infection pathway.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock stated that an increased rate of transmission was occurring in parts of Northern England and that led to a decision to act on Greater Manchester, parts of West Yorkshire and East Lancashire.
136 new Covid-19 cases were detected across the region on Thursday – up from 85 on the same day last week.
The latest figures show Bradford (45.1 cases per 100,000 people) to have the fourth highest current infection rate across the UK, behind Blackburn (85.9), Oldham (54.3), and Leicester (53.2).
Calderdale (28.6) is eighth on the list, which Kirklees (19.8) sits at tenth.
The full list of affected areas:
- The Greater Manchester area
- Pendle
- Hyndburn
- Burnley
- Rossendale
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Bradford
- Calderdale
- Kirklees
- Leicester City
Eid Al Adha celebrations begin this weekend and these restrictions will come to a blow to the families and friends involved with that, but everyone has been urged to follow the new rules and protect the ones they love from catching the virus.
A statement regarding this said: “Mosques and other places of worship have reopened for prayer and communal worship, but in a different socially distanced and COVID-19 Secure way. This means that while Mosques can remain open, many will not be able to welcome as many worshippers as before.
The Government have also urged people with any symptoms to isolate immediately and get a test for free by going online or ringing 119.