Anyone in the North East?

[PennyDreadfuI]

Gateshead has just been added to the govt watchlist and Newcastle is on amber alert. Sunderland have had over 200 cases in the past seven days.

Are we next for a local lockdown? What do you think it will entail? Given Newcastle's reputation as a party city I'm guessing restricted hours for bars maybe - they were packed to the rafters over the August bank holiday weekend, which may account for lots of the new cases.

Aztec I'm in Manchester area, local lockdown here has done nothing,

As for poster asking why Lancashire got a few days notice Manchester only got told at 10pm over twitter by Hancock that lockdown was at midnight that same night. 2 hours notice to find childcare etc and new restrictions.
We didn't get a speech in Houses of Parliament till after lockdown started.

[quote SquirrelScorn]@PennyDreadfuI I think going for a walk 2m apart would be absolutely fine in terms of balancing transmission risk and mental health benefits. However it is very clearly not allowed under the rules. And a shopping trip to Newcastle from South Shields is unlikely to be an essential use of public transport. If we don’t stick to the rules as they are we’ll end up with a harsher lockdown. And it was people not sticking to the previous rules who got us into this.[/quote]
No, it was a virus being a virus and doing what viruses do which got us into this. That and EOTHO, schools/work/uni going back, etc.

If you don't drive and need to get to Newcastle from South Shields for shopping you can't get elsewhere, it's allowable - Nexus have said that people can use the metro to go shopping but to stick to quieter times. If you don't have transport of your own then all use of public transport is essential, particularly when the weather turns in the coming weeks.

@Aztectrousers

Anyone know what’s going on in the Manchester area after their local lockdowns? Has it made any difference to the figures.

I personally don’t think folks will take any notice of the local lockdown and will quietly carry on as they have been doing. Except not being able to stay in the pubs etc after 10pm because they can’t.
I don’t trust the government and the figures and the way they have handled this fiasco from the start. Are they not just delaying things? Lock down, relax, lock down again? How long is this going to go on for?

I don’t know what the answer is.

Aren't some parts of greater Manchester still in lockdown, two months after it was imposed?

All of GM is in restrictions apart from Wigan and Stockport, since the end of July.
Initially they helped a bit but last couple of weeks things have been spiralling upwards at a worrying rate

There are 2 clear sections to the rules. The first part is:

you must not (i.e. it is illegal to):
Meet with other households in private homes or gardens
Meet in a group of more than 6 for the purpose of social interaction
(Unless for one of a long list of exceptions such as providing care or assistance to a vulnerable person)

The second part is:
we advise that you should not (i.e. it is recommended not to, but use your judgement):
Socialise with people you don’t live with
Visit care homes
Use public transport for non-essential reasons

Judging by my Instagram feed there are a lot of people just ignoring it.

One girl just posted herself with a bottle of wine with her friend (who she definitely doesn't live with) on the train with the caption 'off to Edinburgh for the weekend to escape the lockdown rules, byeeeee'

I honestly despair

Jelly, so if I bumped into a friend in the park without kids who are in the same class at school, could we talk 2 m apart and could they play together?

I was booked for an event at a restaurant/bar type place with friend. Venue doesn't care that we're not same household. I think most will continue as is as it's not law and they need the business!

I've been on Longsands this afternoon, just got back. I think it's fair to say that plenty of people are not taking any notice of the new guidelines. Lots of bigger groups of people, groups of friends of all ages walking together and sitting in the View and at Crusoes.
Be interesting to see how it pans out over the next few days but I don't see many people taking much notice of it at the moment. Seems like a normal day out there today.

There are 2 clear sections to the rules
In my experience people will only comply with the letter of the law, the “must not”s. Anything that’s advisory or labelled “should not” will just be ignored. The government is stupid for issuing guidelines, it needs to be law.

Thanks Gobacktothe90s. So if it’s not doing anything in Manchester what’s the point? Other than to make people miserable.

Someone mentioned on another thread that lockdown is just like a pause button. So this is just going to drag on forever. I haven’t been keeping up to date with the figures but are the death rates going up as well? The whole point of lockdown in the beginning was to flatten the curve and protect the nhs and we achieved that. The government and the press are constantly whipping everyone up into a frenzy and it drives me nuts. Protect the vulnerable but let the rest of us live our lives with obviously some restrictions but not lockdown again.

@PennyDreadfuI I don’t drive and don’t need public transport to get to work. So I just don’t use it. I get shopping delivered or shop locally. Understandably some people don’t live near shops, so if they want to shop in person public transport is essential. There are shops in South Shields though, a shopping day out in Newcastle is clearly not essential.

It’s clearly not going to work though, even though I think a majority of people will stick to the rules. There are just too many people who will either bend the rules till they break or ignore them altogether. I just hope in school and care home transmission stays low so the people who obey the rules aren’t too affected by those who don’t.

@Aztectrousers death rates are increasing slightly - last week they were in single figures most days, this week they've been creeping into the 20s.

@SquirrelScorn there may be reasons why you'd have to go to the bigger shops in Newcastle though. This lockdown happened with virtually no notice so nobody had time to prepare and buy the things they thought they might need in the coming weeks/months.

I have to say though that nobody in my local area seems to be taking any notice of the rules - it's not like lockdown proper when the vast majority were. There's a football game going on outside my window right now (kids aged about 12) and everyone else just seems to be carrying on as normal. I wonder what the pubs will be like tonight?

Ella, I can well imagine.

Mentally we've been led to believe it's ok outside.

We've avoided the park today so I don't get tempted to speak to the many people I alway seem to know.

I wonder what the pubs will be like tonight
I’m really angry about the whole thing. I can’t see my Dad but these knackers can go out boozing?! It’s beyond a joke.

Copy of the letter NE councillors have sent to parliament regards childcare, sorry couldn't post a link.

Dear Secretary of State Matt Hancock,
It was deeply concerning to us as leaders of North East local authorities that our request for informal childcare arrangements to be allowed to continue under the new restrictions in our region had been omitted from the legislation published on Thursday evening.

Families across our region rely on the support of their relatives, friends and neighbours to care for their children while parents work long hours, typically in low-pay jobs and often in essential roles such as in the NHS. Such services cannot afford further disruption.
These parents provide an invaluable service to all sectors and as we try to recover from the profound effects of the pandemic while simultaneously taking extraordinary measures to control the virus, this decision will be another devastating blow to families who have already suffered so much.

It was right that tighter controls were introduced across the North East considering rising transmission levels. But our collective ask was for restrictions that would limit the infection opportunities for the virus while allowing the majority of businesses to continue and residents to go about their lives with an added level of protection.

The hospitality trade, grassroots sports and household mixing are all problem areas and environments in which the virus is given the conditions to thrive. Premises in the hospitality tradecan continue to operate in a COVID-secure way and sports teams can continue to fulfil their fixtures. It therefore seems unjust that employees who have already suffered so much during the course of this pandemic must make the difficult decision of whether to go to work or to stay at home and care for their children.

As a region, we recognised the spiralling situation that transmissions of the virus were becoming, and we wrote to you seeking the power to step in and take decisive action to allow us act with urgency. We are grateful that this request was largely approved but would now ask that you show the same eagerness to recognise the difficulty this additional restriction will present for the many thousands of families across the North East who do not have the means to pay for childcare.
Sincerely,
Cllr Nick Forbes, Leader of Newcastle City Council
Cllr Martin Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council
Cllr Glen Sanderson, Interim Leader of Northumberland County Council
Norma Redfearn, Mayor of North Tyneside Council
Cllr Iain Malcolm, Leader of South Tyneside Council
Cllr Graeme Miller, Leader of Sunderland City Council
Cllr Simon Henig, Leader of Durham County Council
Jamie Driscoll, North of Tyne Mayor

We are at 75 hours waiting for test results now! The thought of being stuck in the house all weekend is tippingne over the edge

"The hospitality trade, grassroots sports and household mixing are all problem areas and environments in which the virus is given the conditions to thrive."

Just anecdotally, my DP has had a fair few staff off who have caught it via football or who have had to isolate because someone they play football with has tested positive. He normally plays too but has decided to stop for a while to reduce risk of needing to isolate and miss work. Already having to isolate because our DS had a temp

Should have said it was on Newcastle Councils website, possibly on other councils too.

We're in Durham.
Our daughter is w nurse at large NHS hospital in Newcastle. She went to work on Monday, sneezed a few times so she had her temperature taken, a COVID-19 test swab taken and was sent home. Didn't get her results until Thursday, the test was negative as expected. Four days of work lost and this happens on a daily basis with her colleagues.

A member of Gosforth cricket club has tested positive and "been around this week." They were due to have some finals this weekend so in many ways it's lucky that restrictions have stopped those matches anyway. I don't know if they'd gone ahead or not anyway?

Not being allowed to have family to watch children whilst parents work is going to affect a lot of my friends too.

1 of my close friends, her mum usually watches her youngest full time & her other DC before/after school & overnight depending on shifts.

She's a MH nurse with the NHS and her husband is a Firefighter. They've tried previously & tried again but they are unable to work around each other as much as they are doing.
Which one should leave their job at the moment then?

@NeurotrashWarrior

A member of Gosforth cricket club has tested positive and "been around this week." They were due to have some finals this weekend so in many ways it's lucky that restrictions have stopped those matches anyway. I don't know if they'd gone ahead or not anyway?

Ah lovely, that's right next to me! 🙄 I wonder where he's 'been around' to?

I can't imagine they would've gone ahead - the open air arena at the racecourse finished last night, cancelling the last two shows this weekend. The sound of live music over the past month has been quite nice, a pleasant reminder of The Beforetimes. Sigh.

Did anyone see the case at Arch 2 in Ouseburn, Newcastle. Idiot awaiting test results decided to eat there so now staff have to be tested, premises deep cleaned, loads of worry for customers.

It's so selfish and shows the mindset we are battling.

DH's team was decimated today because people had no childcare. They're not going to magically be able to come up with a solution by Monday, either.