LIVERPOOL, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool & Warrington will be banned from seeing friends and family, Matt Hancock announced today as coronavirus cases soar in the North of England.
Around three million people will be outlawed from indoor mixing, told not to attend live sport games, and only travel if it’s essential.
The Health Secretary revealed the news to MPs today – but they won’t get to vote on them.
He warned today that cases continue to rise in Teeside, the North West and the North East of England.
There are 268 coronavirus cases per 100,000 in Liverpool in the moment, he warned.
£7million in extra funding will be given to local authorities to help them with the latest measures, he said.
Mr Hancock told MPS: “We will be extending these measures in North East since the start of this week to the Liverpool city, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough regions.”
The Government will now recommend against ALL social mixing between people in different households – both inside and outside.
And the law will be changed so people will face fines for meeting up inside.
People in the local lockdown areas should not attend sporting events, only visit care homes in exceptional circumstances, and should only travel if it’s essential.
Today’s news means around 20million people across the UK are now living under local lockdown restrictions.
And across the country pubs have been ordered to shut at 10pm and people are banned from meeting up in groups of more than six.
But Mr Hancock gave a glimmer of optimism, saying there were “early signs” that the latest rules across the nation were having an impact on reducing the R rate and slowing the spread.
It comes just days after new laws came into place for the North East of England, which banned people from seeing friends and family indoors if they don’t already live together.
People over 18 face fines of £200 if they break the law.
