Politics
Matt Hancock warns regions WILL be put in lightning lockdowns as stark graphics show dramatic Covid rise in some areas
MATT Hancock has warned that regions hit hard by coronavirus WILL be put in lightning lockdowns.
The Health Secretary refused to rule out restrictions being imposed locally – as government graphics showed a dramatic rise in cases in certain areas.
Matt Hancock has warned that regions hit hard by coronavirus WILL be put in lightning lockdowns[/caption]
At tonight’s Downing Street briefing, Mr Hancock said: “The goal is all to come out together, but we don’t rule out taking local action in an individual area if we see a spike.”
The Health secretary pointed to worrying regional graphs which show the unequal spread of Covid across the country.
He added: “The number of cases is now falling by only 15% a week.
“In some areas of the country that has flattened entirely and one in five local authority areas has seen a rise in cases in the last week.
“This stark picture shows that this isn’t over yet. The stay at home rules are still in place for a reason.”
It comes as:
- Covid deaths fell by a third in a week as 345 more Brits died and 8,523 tested positive
- The UK’s coronavirus R rate has stalled, but crept up in 3 regions
- There are 69 areas where cases are rising – check if yours is on the list
- Matt Hancock warns ‘this isn’t over yet’ as Covid cases rise in 1 in 5 areas
Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam added: “In some parts of the UK case rates are changing albeit slowly but in the wrong direction.
“This is not a good sign and reinforces the fact I’m afraid this battle at the moment is not won.”
Britain is currently on target to give all Brits over-50s at least one dose of the vaccine by April 15.
People aged between 40 and 49 will be next in line for the jab, followed by the 30-39s age group and then all those 18 to 29, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) announced this morning.
There had been calls for professions such as police officers and teachers to be given the Covid vaccine jab next.
But the JCVI said continuing to prioritise by age would “provide the greatest benefit in the shortest time”.
And it said that prioritising certain professions would have been more complex to deliver and could slow down the vaccine rollout,
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Professor Wei Shen Lim, Covid-19 chair for the JCVI, said: “The current strategy is to prioritise those who are more likely to have severe outcomes and die from Covid-19.
“The evidence is clear that the risk of hospitalisation and death increases with age.”
