Large parts of Derbyshire to be placed under Tier 2 lockdown

North-East Derbyshire, Erewash and Chesterfield have been placed under Tier 2 restrictions, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced.

The new rules, under which households cannot mix indoors in public or private, will be imposed at one minute past midnight on Saturday (October 17).

In Chesterfield the rate of infection is at 118 per 100,000 people. North East Derbyshire is at 149 per 100,000 people and Erewash is at 153 per 100,000.

The areas of Derbyshire follow Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, High Peak and Leicester in the ‘High’ Covid-19 level.

Earlier this week, the leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, Tricia Gilby, said she was expecting harsher restrictions to be imposed as cases of coronavirus continued to rise.

She said: “Everyone across the town and borough has pulled together to help protect the most vulnerable in our communities over the past seven months.

“But in spite of these efforts, the number of local coronavirus cases is now a cause for concern. The infection rate is too high, and we must jointly consider what further measures may be needed at this critical time.

“Nobody wants to see stricter lockdown measures brought in locally but the health and safety of our communities, particularly our most vulnerable, must be our priority.

“Each and every one of us has a part to play in controlling the spread of this virus – I’m urging everyone in Chesterfield to check their behaviour and make sure they are doing all they can to protect themselves, their families and the communities in which they live and work.”