“In the past week, the number of positive cases in Preston has increased significantly and it is extremely important that we act now to prevent the situation from getting any worse.
“The evidence is clear, we all need to take extra precautions to protect our loved ones. Coronavirus affects all of communities and we all need to do our part to prevent the spread from continuing rise.
“I also want to be clear that this is affecting people from both south Asian and white ethnic backgrounds, particularly those living in poor socio-economic conditions in our city. We need to avoid mixing between households and to maintain two metre social distancing particularly in pubs and clubs.”
“The number of cases in Preston have increased rapidly in recent days leading to Government categorising the city as an area of intervention. It is also alarming to see that the under-30s are contracting it at a significant rate.
“It is clear that coronavirus is still here and we all need to work together to keep ourselves, our friends, families and communities safe from this virus.
“While some wards have recorded a higher level of cases, this remains a city-wide issue and it’s essential that we all do our part to fight the virus.
“We’re urging everyone to be diligent and follow the restrictions, in order to protect all of our residents, communities and businesses.”
“The governments of all four nations have agreed to these changes based on a shared understanding of the data.
“This is another important step in our efforts to prevent the spread of the virus, and adhering to the quarantine is a vital aspect of this.
“Imposing quarantine requirements on those arriving from another country is not a decision made lightly – but suppressing the virus and protecting public health remains our priority.”
“I want to acknowledge that the hospitality sector have been working very hard with us, they have been in partnership with us right throughout this issue and this is not a reflection on the hospitality sector, rather it’s a reflection on the fact that the R rate has risen, there is a rise in community transmission and we always said there is a need to work together to try and push that down.
“We have decided to make face masks mandatory in enclosed spaces where you can’t social distance, from Monday.
“Retail workers will not have to wear masks, it’s those people coming in to the shops that we are asking to wear masks.
“It’s about trying to give confidence to people who feel vulnerable and maybe have been shielding and we are asking the public to work with us and listen to what we are asking them to do.”
New rules for wearing face masks in public have come into force in England.
People must wear face masks in even more places after the Government expanded its list of places where face coverings are mandatory.
Shoppers faced hefty fines from July 24 if they didn’t wear them inside stores and supermarkets, while they already had to be worn on public transport.
But now the list has been expanded to include more indoor places. See the full list here.
Meanwhile, restrictions were brought in for Preston from midnight last night, banning households from mixing indoors or in gardens
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The North East is just a small step away from a serious new outbreak of Covid-19, Newcastle’s public health chief has warned.
Prof Eugene Milne has urged people not to become complacent in combating the virus, after figures were revealed showing our region is thought to have the lowest R rate of infection in the country.
The public health expert has reiterated that “we are by no means in the clear” of the pandemic crisis and that the prospect remains of local councils having to re-impose strict lockdown measures.
Tougher restrictions were brought in for people in Greater Manchester, as well as parts of Lancashire and West Yorkshire, last week after a spike in coronavirus cases.
Full story here.
The chief executive of Preston City Council has deployed a “don’t kill granny” message to young people to slow the spread of coronavirus after the area had lockdown restrictions reimposed.
Adrian Phillips told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I know our director of public health has said ‘don’t kill granny’ to young people to try and focus the message.
“Young people are inevitably among the brave and the bold, they want to be adventurous and out and about but we know that they have the virus, are more likely to at the moment, they often have less symptoms but they do take it back to their household and the community spread we are seeing we believe in many cases are young people taking it home and catching the virus.
“We’re going to have to repeat it and whether Radio 4 is the correct channel for that I’m not quite sure but we’re using multiple channels and we’re working with community groups who are doing peer to peer comms around.
“It’s just trying so many different ways to get the message to all communities, to all areas of our city that the virus is still something to be really wary of.”
He also backed the Local Government Association’s call for councils to have greater powers to close pubs to slow the spread of the pandemic.
“You need responsive powers,” he said. “It is useful to have something that can move quickly and we can make it entirely clear to the licensee or the operator what the consequences are.”
Here is a round-up of today’s stories:
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The Covid-19 pandemic isn’t growing overall despite a number of towns experiencing significant outbreaks.
Last month, a resurgence in Covid-19 cases saw swathes of the North West and Yorkshire put back into semi-lockdown over fears the pandemic could begin to grow out of control.
Blackburn and Darwen now has the highest rate of confirmed cases per 100,000 people according to testing carried out in the week up to August 3, followed by Oldham.
In the midlands, Leicester – which was the first place to be subject to a local lockdown – also continues to be an area of concern, although cases are declining.
But, according to new reproduction (R) rate estimates published by the Government, the pandemic is thought to be between 0.8 and 1.
Full story here.
The GAA has suspended all activity in counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly from midnight tonight in line with new restrictions announced by Government to stem the spread of coronavirus.
In a statement, the GAA said the suspension on activities covers all collective training, matches, in-person meetings and camps.
“GAA grounds and facilities in the affected counties should remain closed until further notice,” it said.
“The position will be reviewed by our Gaelic games Covid-19 advisory group next Monday, after which further advice will be issued to clubs in the affected counties.
“The GAA, An Cumann Camogiochta and LGFA encourages all members nationwide to continue to follow public health advice, and in counties where activity is still permitted, to follow Gaelic games return-to-play protocols.”
The upcoming series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! will be filmed in the UK instead of Australia and will be broadcast live every night from a ruined castle in the countryside, ITV has confirmed.
Ant and Dec will host the series as celebrities undertake gruelling trials and challenges to win food and treats in the lead-up to one of them being crowned King or Queen of the Castle, rather than of the jungle.
Kevin Lygo, ITV’s director of television, said: “We announced last week that we were doing all we could to make the series and I’m thrilled that we can bring the show to viewers, albeit not in the jungle.
Full story here.
This is what going to a gig will look like in the ‘new normal’.
The world’s first socially distanced gig venue is currently being constructed in Gosforth Park.
Across August and September, huge names such as The Libertines, Maximo Park and music legend Van Morrison will play to crowds of up to 2,500 fans at what has been christened the Virgin Money Unity Arena.
But in the era of Covid-19, there will certainly be no mosh pits as fans are socially distanced on metal platforms.
Full story here.
With live comedy making a return to Newcastle, fans – long overdue a chance to chill out, watch a show and have a laugh – will be keen to know how it will work.
So, ahead of a big comedy session, The Stand in Newcastle has shown them just that in a video tour through the club which is set to take the edge off any concerns.
And, with social distancing high on the bill, the club is all set to have a laugh again this weekend with comic Carl Hutchinson who is performing a whopping six shows over two days.
Full story here.
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The Prime Minister is facing calls to “set the record straight” over Dominic Cummings did not make a second trip to Durham during lockdown.
Boris Johnson’s influential advisor admitted travelling to his family home in Barnard Castle, seemingly against Government advice.
Now Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has called on Downing Street to publish the evidence the adviser says he has to show he did not make the additional journey during the peak of the coronavirus crisis.
Dave and Clare Edwards, a couple who say they saw Mr Cummings walking in Houghall Woods on April 19, the weekend after he had returned to work in London, have criticised Durham police’s investigation into the adviser.
Full story here.
The French government says it has recorded 2,288 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours which is up 684 cases from yesterday.
Addressing the country, the Taoiseach said the virus was still a “deep and urgent threat”.
He said a number of limited restrictions will apply to counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly for two weeks from midnight.
These include restricting movement within the counties, with the exception of work purposes and other essential journeys; restaurants and pubs serving food to close, apart from takeaway services, deliveries and limited outdoor dining; and the closure of indoor entertainment and sport venues such as cinemas, theatres, museums, galleries and bingo halls.
Visits to prisons, acute hospitals and nursing homes will be suspended except on compassionate grounds.
People have been asked not to travel to those counties unless for work.
Ireland’s premier Micheal Martin has announced a regional restrictions in counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly following a surge in coronavirus cases.
Another four people with coronavirus in Ireland have died, according to the National Public Health Emergency Team, bringing the national total at 1,772.
In addition, 98 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been notified, bringing the total number of Irish infections to 26,470.
Dr Richard Harling, Staffordshire County Council’s director of health and care, said: “By acting swiftly to test and trace people connected to the pub over the weekend of 17-18 July, we believe that we have been able to contain any further spread of the virus.
“While we will continue to monitor the situation, and may still see a small number of cases in family members, we feel that we can step down the incident today.
“I would like to thank the people of Stone and all those who came forward to be tested for their cooperation in managing this significant outbreak.”
The Crown and Anchor remains closed this weekend and will not be allowed to reopen until it can demonstrate that strict measures are in place to ensure good hygiene and social distancing, in line with national guidance.
The Covid-19 incident linked to the Crown and Anchor pub in Stone has been stepped down, Staffordshire County Council said.
There remain 22 confirmed cases, with 15 from Staffordshire and seven from Stoke-on-Trent, and more than 60 of their contacts have been identified and are self-isolating for 14 days.
Around 1,000 people have been tested in connection with the outbreak and authorities are confident it is unlikely there will be further confirmed cases who were infected at the Crown and Anchor or by others who were there.
Students and teachers in secondary schools have been advised to wear face masks by the Department of Education in Ireland.
In a statement, the department said that face coverings should be worn when a physical distance of two metres cannot be maintained.
The department also said that schools have been given a Covid-19 payment which will to help with enhanced cleaning regimes.
This is intended to allow for an extra four to six hours cleaning per day in schools.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester and other leaders in the region have agreed that the local lockdown restrictions should continue but urged the Government to improve the test and trace system.
Responding to the Health Secretary’s announcement that restrictions on social visits to homes in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and West Yorkshire will remain in place for a further week, a Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) spokesperson said: “The Mayor of Greater Manchester and leaders agreed on Wednesday that the heightened restrictions should continue in the city-region for another week.
“Alongside the continued measures, Greater Manchester will be taking further action locally over the next seven days. Targeted enforcement will be taking place, such as mystery shoppers visiting pubs and restaurants to ensure they are complying and taking down customer’s details.
“We will also continue to focus on communicating direct and simple messaging to the public, especially with younger people, to make sure it is clear there should be no social visits to homes while these restrictions remain in place.
“However, we also need Government to improve the test and trace system. Ministers must ensure people have the financial support to be able to immediately self-isolate and we need under-utilised national centre staff urgently redeployed to local areas.”
Lancashire’s director of public health, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, said:
“In the past week, the number of positive cases in Preston has increased significantly and it is extremely important that we act now to prevent the situation from getting any worse.
“The evidence is clear, we all need to take extra precautions to protect our loved ones. Coronavirus affects all of communities and we all need to do our part to prevent the spread from continuing rise.
“I also want to be clear that this is affecting people from both south Asian and white ethnic backgrounds, particularly those living in poor socio-economic conditions in our city. We need to avoid mixing between households and to maintain two metre social distancing particularly in pubs and clubs.”
Preston City Council chief executive Adrian Phillips said:
“The number of cases in Preston have increased rapidly in recent days leading to Government categorising the city as an area of intervention. It is also alarming to see that the under-30s are contracting it at a significant rate.
“It is clear that coronavirus is still here and we all need to work together to keep ourselves, our friends, families and communities safe from this virus.
“While some wards have recorded a higher level of cases, this remains a city-wide issue and it’s essential that we all do our part to fight the virus.
“We’re urging everyone to be diligent and follow the restrictions, in order to protect all of our residents, communities and businesses.”
The new restrictions for Preston follow it being designated an “area of intervention” by the Government following a spike in cases.
The Lancashire Resilience Forum said: “Since the rise of cases was first announced last week, residents, communities and businesses have been asked to take extra precautions to reduce the spread of the virus.
“These extra precautions are now mandatory and residents are still actively encouraged to get tested at the regional testing site based at Preston’s College if they are experiencing any symptoms of coronavirus.”
Restrictions banning households from mixing indoors or in gardens are to be brought in for Preston from midnight tonight, the Department of Health has said.
The Government also said that in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Friday, there had been a further 871 lab-confirmed cases. Overall, a total of 309,005 cases have been confirmed.
The Government said 46,511 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Thursday, up by 98 from the day before.