BIRMINGHAM has officially been added to the coronavirus watch list after cases have spiked and a Northampton factory was ordered to shut.
Cases of coronavirus have risen rapidly with young people under the age of 34 making up the bulk of fresh infections.
The rate of new infections in Birmingham has reached 30.2 cases per 100,000 and the percentage of people testing positive up to 4.3%.
Officials don’t know where the spike in cases has come from, so are sending in health teams to try and find the source.
Over half of the new cases in the last week have been between 18-34 years old, as fears grow of young people not taking social distancing seriously.
It was also confirmed this lunchtime:
- Oldham residents will be told not to socialise with ANYONE outside their home to try and stop the spread of the virus
- A Northampton factory has been ordered to shut and everyone forced to isolate after a huge number of cases emerged
- Wigan, Rossendale and Darwen are to be released from the new rules
- In future MPs and local politicians will decide the boundaries for local lockdowns, not politicians in Whitehall – meaning areas with low cases will likely be exempt
Nearly 300 workers at the Greencore Factory in Northampton have tested positive for the virus, and the local infection rate hit 125.1 per 100,000 last week.
The factory will close from today and all employees and their direct households will have to isolate at home for two weeks.
The Health Secretary will introduce regulations to ensure that this self-isolation period is legally enforced.
The Department for Health said anyone who leaves isolation prior to the two-week period ending without reasonable excuse will be subject to fines.
The new surge in cases mean Northampton has been added as an “area of intervention”, Birmingham is now an “area of intervention” and Slough has been designated an “area of concern”.
That means extra resources will be sent into these areas to boost testing and residents will see extra reminders of the importance of social distancing and hand hygiene.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said today: “To prevent a second peak and keep Covid-19 under control, we need robust, targeted intervention where we see a spike in cases.
“The only way we can keep on top of this deadly virus is through decisive action led by the people who know their areas best, wherever possible through consensus with a local area.”
