Don't Punish Us With Local Lockdowns...They're Unfair

Coronavirus: variant threat

- Chris Riches and Jan Disley

LEADERS and businesses in eight Indian variant “hotspots” have accused the Government of bringing in local lockdowns by stealth after new guidelines were quietly ushered in.

The advice – including not to travel in or out of the areas – was published on Friday but went unnoticed until yesterday.

It covers Bedford, Blackburn and Darwen, Bolton, Burnley, Kirklees, Leicester, Hounslow in west London and North Tyneside.

Yesterday in a U-turn, Downing Street tried to cool the row by stressing that the guidance, set out on a government website, was “not statutory” and only advisory.

And in Bolton, Tory leader of the council David Greenhalgh denied they were under any local lockdown – and they would oppose any further measures.

He said: “There are no added restrictions coming to Bolton, there is no local lockdown.”

He added that “local lockdowns do not work” and Bolton has already had “disproportionately unfair experience” of them.

He said: “All the evidence points to the vaccine holding up.”

The town is suffering the highest proportion of Covid cases anywhere in the country due to the Indian variant.

Testing

While Bolton has 450.7 Covid cases per 100,000 people, nearby Oldham has 26.1, Stockport 19.8, Tameside 22.1 and Salford 32.5.

But the rate in Bolton has been declining, with 5.9 per cent of all PCR swabs testing positive according to latest figures, compared to 8.1 per cent a week earlier.