Lockdown tightened in parts of Northern England

[PatriciaHolm]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53602362

Still breaking so no exact detail on location yet but -

"Separate households will not be allowed to meet indoors in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire from midnight, the government has announced.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said an "increasing rate of transmission" had been identified in those areas."

Well for one thing, the BBC needs to rethink it's headline 'visiting people at home banned in northern England' as that will unnecessarily shock residents of Liverpool, Hull, Newcastle, York, Cumbria and many other places not outside the Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire areas that are affected.

I agree that it's surprising that Leeds is not included given that we're the neighbouring district with a similar demographic and significant cross over in where people have relatives and also work.

not in the GM/WY areas of course.

disagree that this is about not being seen to target the South Asian community - it's about the govt cocking up in terms of how long they took to act in locking the country down earlier in the year and now they are acting decisively in a way which seems draconian by comparison.

By rate of infection the UK locked down quite early, before all Italy did (by infection) and some other European countries

What do you think the government to do with these areas? Ignore the steadily increasing numbers? Then what? More deaths

@Flaxmeadow

If it’s been on the cards for weeks why wait last minute until everyone has spent money? Science. A tipping point has been reached. It's the infection rates, they've gone up and they're not going down. I expect they had a time limit for improvement but it didnt improve

I live in one of these areas and what I've noticed is that for the last few weeks these areas have jostled with each other for the top 10 of the rates of infection. Some higher one day, then another higher the next day. It looks about right the areas chosen.

Also you have to remember these places are all very close to each other and on the M62. People travel between these urban areas all the time

The tipping point was reached at 10pm last night, so suddenly that there wasn't time to call an actual press conference, or release an actual guidance document, and Matt Hancock was forced to release it via twitter instead?

My local group is full of nasty comments towards the Muslim community this morning. The area already has a huge divide and this (and the timing of it) is only fuelling that,
Our council had already identified a couple of areas of particular concern and those areas are the ‘Muslim areas’ so now people are blaming the community for these new restrictions.

My brother lives right on the edge of the Bradford Met area (Eastburn). My parents live just over the border in Craven (Sutton-in-Craven). If they meet in my parents garden only my brother and his family are breaking the rules. Have I got that right?

The tipping point was reached at 10pm last night, so suddenly that there wasn't time to call an actual press conference, or release an actual guidance document, and Matt Hancock was forced to release it via twitter instead?

Yes because its urgent. The government will have these numbers coming in all the time. They were probably up late looking at them and deciding what to do

I live here, I want this horrible disease controlled and I don't care what time we are told about it

*"I live in rural Hampshire. We have practically no families here from South East Asia.

It's like 99.9% white and we've had groups of white teens meeting up since the beginning. It's an age thing, not a race thing"*

The new rules aren't being introduced because people are breaking guidelines. They are based on the populations where outbreaks are occuring. And in most of the areas under this limited lockdown, that's mainly ..at the moment .. happening amongst the Asian communities, or Asian muslim communities if you prefer to be more precise.
It's not happening in all Asian communities across the board, and I haven't heard anything about Trafford.

@Flaxmeadow - nowhere have I said I disagree with these latest lockdowns. All I have said is that the govt's failure to put the lockdown in place earlier than it did in March means that these latest lockdowns seem too draconian in relation to the current number of cases. That number is rising though and what they really want to prevent is a full on second wave.

@Flaxmeadow

The tipping point was reached at 10pm last night, so suddenly that there wasn't time to call an actual press conference, or release an actual guidance document, and Matt Hancock was forced to release it via twitter instead?

Yes because its urgent. The government will have these numbers coming in all the time. They were probably up late looking at them and deciding what to do

I live here, I want this horrible disease controlled and I don't care what time we are told about it

No matter how urgent it was it was grossly inappropriate to announce it on Twitter ffs.

You're not telling me that they only got the relevant info at 9pm. No way in hell.

Maybe a cool tiktok video press release next time?

It's not happening in all Asian communities across the board, and I haven't heard anything about Trafford.

No one said it was and you didn't see the item I saw last night on the BBC News or Look North West after 10 pm.

I agree the timing of the announcement is shit, if it has been earlier than I don’t think many would be breaking the rule today but this has pissed people off and they’ll break the rules anyway. We didn’t meet with family and friends last Eid either, at the height of the pandemic and at that time also there was a lot being said about how many wouldn’t follow the rules because Muslims ‘never follow the rules’, and that’s just rubbish.

If the government believe that reducing contact will make a difference, it has to be done. I live in a borough that's had three cases in two months. I have two social groups, one separate friend, two colleagues I'm in touch with over WhatsApp and our families locally. Not one of these people have been in anyone's house. We've only met up with them outside and 2m apart, and once. Neighbours are seeing family outside as well. Assuming most of the area are like minded, it's helping but sad it won't work we extending this to indoors with the odd person in the winter.

nowhere have I said I disagree with these latest lockdowns. All I have said is that the govt's failure to put the lockdown in place earlier than it did in March means that these latest lockdowns seem too draconian in relation to the current number of cases.

But we didnt lockdown late. We actually locked down quite early by rates of infection and deaths compared to other countries. It isnt the date that matters, it's the science that decides

That number is rising though and what they really want to prevent is a full on second wave.

Yes and its rising in other parts if Europe as well. I've said it a thousand times its population density and major travel areas that's pushing this damn thing and the areas up here that are now restricted again have very high density, especially Bradford

@Flaxmeadow

The tipping point was reached at 10pm last night, so suddenly that there wasn't time to call an actual press conference, or release an actual guidance document, and Matt Hancock was forced to release it via twitter instead?

Yes because its urgent. The government will have these numbers coming in all the time. They were probably up late looking at them and deciding what to do

I live here, I want this horrible disease controlled and I don't care what time we are told about it

God you are guilable and will excuse anything.

Matt Hancock's team could easily have contacted the press about what the arrangements were (since he seems to have known them at 10pm himself).

Instead he plastered it on twitter after it seems to have had plenty of time to be leaked to the press in time for last night's front pages.

For the story to leak in this way and to the level of detail it did, the decision was made much earlier. Yet the plan was still to bring it in at midnight last night?

Nope, this was deliberately leaked to the press and the publication strategy was via twitter cos thats how this government have been managing the press since Johnson became PM.

@usernotfound0000

Is it literally just mixing in houses that isn't allowed? So can still meet your friends in the pub but not in your house? Bonkers.

Only one household per table are supposed to meet at the pub. Not sure how they'll police that though.

But we didnt lockdown late. We actually locked down quite early by rates of infection and deaths compared to other countries. It isnt the date that matters, it's the science that decides

The scientists who advised the government have said the government ignored their advise and locked down later than the science said they should.

This narrative has now been pretty accepted by everyone including the government, who have retrospectively said that lock down started a week esrlier than it actually did.

But there you go.

@H1978

I agree the timing of the announcement is shit, if it has been earlier than I don’t think many would be breaking the rule today but this has pissed people off and they’ll break the rules anyway. We didn’t meet with family and friends last Eid either, at the height of the pandemic and at that time also there was a lot being said about how many wouldn’t follow the rules because Muslims ‘never follow the rules’, and that’s just rubbish.

Exactly. The timing of the announcement and the way it was done shows a complete lack of respect to all the families whose celebrations they are wrecking. The government has stuck two fingers up at them, and will get the same response in kind.

Twitter equals the press!!! It was all over the bbc last night. Ditto other news outlets. He just didn’t stand in front of tv cameras or do a press conference. Everyone can still shop. Everyone can go outside. They cannot meet in homes. Of course it’s Eid.

What IS happening in Trafford?

Its not known for a large Muslim community. Im struggling to think of where one is in the borough.

Why is it on the rise in Trafford when its not in the neighbouring counties of Warrington and East Cheshire (where it is still declining) ?

Genuinely curious.

(and before you can say Trafford Centre...)

Well maybe they were sticking two fingers up to everyone by meeting! And maybe have been meeting in homes?

I wouldn't blame anyone who went ahead with their Eid party. Imagine if they had announced this on Christmas Eve?

Exactly. If they'd decided to cancel Christmas celebrations in the Home Counties I can guarantee you people would also expect a bit more than an announcement on fucking Twitter at 10pm the night before.

@RedToothBrush - in one of my earlier posts in which I stated this, I also stated that there was a rise in Covid cases amongst young people, i.e. it's due to groups of young people meeting up. This was on the news last night.