Trafford ‘will be RELEASED from tough North West lockdown rules’

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Trafford, Burnley and Hyndburn will be released from tough North West lockdown measures, it was claimed today.

Everyone living in Greater Manchester was banned from meeting other households in the comfort of their own home or garden under a desperate attempt to tackle rising rates of Covid-19.

But a local health chief today confirmed that Trafford, home to 236,000 people, will be exempt from the rules as of next week. Restrictions on mixing between different households in Burnley and Hyndburn will also be lifted, bosses claimed. 

Number 10 has yet to confirm the moves but ministers are set to officially announce an update to local lockdown rules this afternoon. Health Secretary Matt Hancock chaired a ‘Gold Command’ meeting yesterday to discuss further action in badly-hit areas.

Millions of people in the North West and the Midlands are currently affected by rules designed to control the spread of coronavirus.

It comes amid fears Birmingham could be the next place to face tighter lockdown rules, after the government added it to the official watchlist last week because of a spike in cases. Local health bosses warned residents of the city that ‘what we do in the next seven days will decide if we go into lockdown or not’.

Officials in the Midlands city, home to 1.1million people, were this week given extra powers to shut down bars and restaurants that don’t make themselves Covid-safe, and will also be able to close parks and cancel weddings.

The Manchester Evening News claimed Trafford council leader Andrew Western has confirmed that the Greater Manchester borough will be released from lockdown. 

In a furious Twitter rant, Mr Western accused Number 10 of not explaining why they were removing Trafford from the lockdown. He said it was ‘disgraceful’ that no-one had ‘bothered to contact me at all’. 

He said: ‘I lead a council with a population of 230,000 people but [the] government couldn’t be bothered to pick up the phone to tell me we were being overruled, let alone explain why.’

Trafford Council asked ministers to extend the rules for another fortnight ‘in the interests of public safety’. 

It feared a spike in cases with the return of schools next week and the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend, calling it a ‘delicate time to ease restrictions’.

And the council warned the infection rate has increased slightly over the past few days, with it now having 21.1 cases for every 100,000 people. For comparison, the national average is 11.7.

But the most up-to-date Public Health England data released last Friday claimed the borough’s infection rate was 27.1. Bolton and Stockport were the only two parts of Greater Manchester to have smaller outbreaks.

In a statement published on Facebook, the council also warned cases have been diagnosed in ‘every one of our 21 electoral wards’ over the past fortnight. And it fears cases could spillover from the neighbouring City of Manchester, which it shares a border with.  

Mr Hancock said the Government has been ‘working very, very closely’ with public health authorities in areas already locked down. 

Decisions from yesterday’s meeting – arranged by the Joint Biosecurity Centre – are expected to be publicly announced later this afternoon. 

Officials announced tougher lockdown rules for Oldham, Blackburn and Pendle last Friday, following an urgent meeting the day before. Households in the three areas were banned from meeting together because infection rates were still rising, despite ‘dedicated efforts’ to contain the virus. 

Ministers stopped short of imposing full local lockdowns and ordering businesses to shut, which council bosses warned would have been ‘catastrophic’ for already-struggling firms.

In the same announcement, Number 10 revealed Wigan, Darwen and Rossendale would be released from lockdown rules currently enforced because of a drop in cases. 

Trafford will be added to the list of areas that will be released from the measures, as well as Burnley and Hyndburn. Both towns are home to around 80,000 people.

Lancashire’s director of public health Dr Sakthi Karunanithi confirmed the news but urged residents that the lifting of additional restrictions ‘should not lead to complacency’.

She said: ‘In both Burnley and Hyndburn infection rates are significantly above the national average with an increasing rate in Hyndburn.

‘Coronavirus does not respect administrative boundaries and there is a high volume of social, educational and commuting travel between these areas and Lancashire’s hotspots.

‘The virus is very much still present in both Burnley and Hyndburn so residents must play their part to help protect themselves, their families and their communities.’

PHE data released last week revealed that the infection rate in Hyndburn was 42.1, and that only seven areas under lockdown rules had bigger outbreaks – Oldham, Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle, Leicester, Bradford, the city of Manchester and Rochdale. Burnley’s infection rate was 37.3. 

But health chiefs claimed existing coronavirus restrictions in Preston and parts of Pendle will remain. 

People living elsewhere in Pendle and in the northern part of Blackburn with Darwen will still not be able to socialise with anyone outside their household and should only use public transport if essential.

Gary Hall, deputy chair of the Lancashire Resilience Forum which is leading the county’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, said: ‘In most parts of Lancashire things are heading in the right direction and I would like to thank everyone for playing their part. 

‘I understand how difficult it has been and appreciate the sacrifice people have made.

‘If we continue on this path I am hopeful that all parts of Lancashire will have the remaining restrictions lifted soon.

‘But this depends on people following the rules wherever they live in the county, and continuing to practice social distancing, washing hands regularly, wearing a face covering when they should and following the guidance given to them if contacted by NHS Test and Trace.’

Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees councils in Yorkshire have all issued statements calling for their local lockdowns to come to an end.

The Government’s messaging on local coronavirus restrictions has been ‘confused and bungled’, they said.

The leaders of those councils joined their counterparts in Greater Manchester in criticising proposals to tackle the virus on a ward-by-ward basis.   

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