Day of destiny for Nottingham and wider county as lockdown restrictions set to be revealed
The Government will today finally reveal its lockdown plans for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to make a speech to the House of Commons.
Johnson is expected to reveal a three-tiered system of regional lockdowns after cases soared in the north-west, north-east, Yorkshire – and especially Nottingham.
The city – and wider county – have been on notice for almost a week after reports first emerged last Tuesday that new restrictions could be on the way.
Nottingham city’s Covid-19 infection rate has soared from around 12 people per 100,000 in early September to over 830 in the space of just over a month. Many of the city’s areas which are heavily populated by students have been particularly affected, but it is thought that the Government will announce county-wide restrictions to come into effect from this Wednesday (14 October) – with businesses set to feel the effect.
Nottingham City Council leaders have been critical of the Government’s delay in imposing restrictions on Nottingham.
In a statement late last week, the leader of the council, David Mellen, said: “I am very concerned about the Government’s decision to delay introducing extra restrictions in Nottingham. We have seen the number of cases spiral from being below the national average a few weeks ago to now the highest in the country, which is deeply concerning. We are also seeing an increase in Covid patients being admitted to hospital locally. It’s abundantly clear that stricter measures are needed. It makes the Government’s position even more questionable, with them changing from a plan to introduce extra restrictions this week to now not doing so until the middle of next week.
“This makes absolutely no sense when the numbers have grown so drastically here in such a short space of time. It’s clear that strict interventions are needed, and they are needed urgently, rather than waiting until some time next week. Worse than that, the delay leaves this weekend open to potential abuse of the existing rules, which could result in yet more Covid cases in our city.
“This unnecessarily places a huge burden on our local resources to manage and runs the risk of making a bad situation even worse in terms of infection rates. We need Government to act urgently and decisively or better still, give us the powers to let us get on with taking the action ourselves.
“We need people to stop and think for themselves, if the Government isn’t going to take the action they should on behalf of the people of Nottingham. We need them to stay at home and not mix with other households, rather than being tempted to go out one last time before any extra regulations kick in. Everyone has a responsibility to themselves, to those around them and to their loved ones. For goodness’ sake, please help stop the spread of this virus – if you aren’t taking active steps to be part of the solution, then you are part of the problem that’s facing our city.”
Last night, it emerged that Liverpool’s city leaders had agreed a deal with the Government to be placed into the Tier 3 – the highest level of resrictions – which would see pubs, casinos and bookies closed, but restaurants and schools remain open.
