North East councils unite in calls for tougher lockdown restrictions to stamp out Covid rise

South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead and Newcastle have all found themselves on the Government’s watch list after spikes in cases.

Now political leaders from across the region are writing to the government to call for some restrictions to be put in place.

Exact details of what those measures will be have not yet been confirmed, but they are set to include restrictions on the opening hours and operations of pubs, bars and restaurants.

Residents could also be told not to meet up with people from other households – a stricter position than the government’s new ‘rule of six’ announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week.

Councils are also calling for more resources and power, and more information on cases and patterns.

The restrictions would cover seven North East council areas – Newcastle, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Sunderland, County Durham, and Northumberland.

Iain Malcolm, leader of South Tyneside Council, told the North East Combined Authority on Monday afternoon: “All seven local authorities within the region are working extremely closely to coordinate our response to the Covid crisis.

“We are undertaking joint arrangements and coordinating our activities so that there are not mixed messages being given to the residents of the North East region.”

In early August 2020, the North East was reported to have the lowest rate of Covid-19 infections in the country – but there has been a serious increase since then.

Prof Eugene Milne, Newcastle City Council’s director of public health, said that the rising case numbers were partly down to a “rising tide” of infections as lockdown restrictions eased and then exacerbated by major outbreaks linked to events such as the Burnside Working Men’s Club charity football match on the border of Sunderland and County Durham, which has now led to more than 60 positives tests.

The public health boss also said last week that local councils would prefer any new lockdown restrictions to be imposed on a region-wide basis to avoid the dangers of residents simply crossing to a neighbouring borough to get around them, for example to find an open pub.

The seven councils concerned are collectively known as LA7.

Their spokesman is Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes.

“The North East is renowned for its resilience and togetherness and there is no greater time to come together than during a crisis such as the one we all continue to face,” he said.

“Cases of COVID-19 are increasing rapidly across our region, and it is only right that we take a joined-up approach to protect residents right across the North East.

“Our towns and cities now have some of the highest infection rates in the country and we are not prepared to sit and wait for Government to tell us what to do.

“Together, we want to take action now to take back control and stop this virus ripping through our communities.

“We’re asking for the power, funding, and resources to change things now in order to protect our most vulnerable. We know that a large proportion of the transmission occurs in the hospitality trade and in people’s homes, so we need to be able to target these areas among others.”

Coun Forbes said councils also need greater control over test and trace, to be able to fully understand the outbreaks as they occur and work with Public Health England and the NHS to implement effective outbreak control.

“This is not the time for inaction. If we are to protect those most susceptible to the virus, we need to be able to act now and that is exactly what we are collectively trying to achieve,” he said.

Councillor Forbes added: “There is universal concern from council leaders across our region about the exponential rise in Covid cases over the last week.

“Unless we get on with this now, we are facing a bigger problem down the line which could end up in a full lockdown.

“It is better to try to introduce measures which will prevent that, even though that may mean some additional restrictions over the next few weeks.

“We are working with the government on a plan for what those could mean and how we can get those measures in place over the next few weeks to protect our communities and having to go into another prolonged, damaging lockdown.”

Coun Forbes added that it “beggars belief” that he heard reports of house parties being held in the North East over the weekend given the huge spike in cases reported in recent weeks.

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