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.

@Jrobhatch29

Coincidentally my DP has just had a phone call from one of his staff. He's having to isolate because someone on his football team turned up to training whilst waiting for a result (didn't tell anyone) and has since came back positive. What's wrong with people?

There's (almost) never a reasonable excuse but going to play football while you're waiting for a test result has to be one of the most selfish things I've heard. It's hardly essential is it.

South Tyneside here. If anyone is in need of a test the mobile testing sites in South Shields are taking walk ins.
It's bothering me that all the young people are being scapegoated for this. I was invited out on Bank Holiday weekend and I declined as I know just how packed the pubs get and a couple of pubs had already closed at this point for deep cleaning.
I was in one pub with DH and it was crazy, people pissed and hugging each other etc and not a single one was under 35!

In the NE it's very much the 10-29 age group at the moment:

I don't blame them, they're fed up. At the same time we need to be on top of the rates somehow.

Gateshead here. My concern is the schools close. I'd happily take everything else closing.

Sunderland officially on the government watchlist

Northumberland here. The vast majority are complying really well. I've been impressed by the consideration shown out shopping with masks etc.

But....older school kids arent distancing at all. I see crowds of them every day. Groups of 30/40 mingling. Its so disheartening.

Does anyone have a link to the stats being used for placing areas on the watch list? If it’s numbers of cases, that’s ridiculous, as increased testing will have a massive impact. Are hospital admissions rising?

@MoiraRoseIsMyQueen

Does anyone have a link to the stats being used for placing areas on the watch list? If it’s numbers of cases, that’s ridiculous, as increased testing will have a massive impact. Are hospital admissions rising?

I think there's 9 in hospital across South tyneside/sunderland Trust. No idea about elsewhere in North East

@UpToonGirl 9 days?? Nooooooo, please no. DS1 (coughing one) will be back at school before we get the test results back (10 days at home). Not worth testing if it's going to take that long. We might as well decide we are at home for 10/14 days and get on with it rather than the rush every morning to see if a text arrived overnight.

Yes, we postal tested it, as it was the only thing that came up. Others, ill after DS1, just winged it at a testing station, and have their (positive) result. Think we will try that next time.

@MoiraRoseIsMyQueen

Does anyone have a link to the stats being used for placing areas on the watch list? If it’s numbers of cases, that’s ridiculous, as increased testing will have a massive impact. Are hospital admissions rising?

Local lockdown is 50 cases per 100,000 population. Not sure about watch lists/enhanced support.

South Tees has 5 hospital cases as of 3 days ago. 2 are critical care.

What I’m finding most frustrating is that the point of the lockdown measures was never to stop anyone catching Covid ever again. It was to flatten the curve to allow the NHS to cope. And yet now the lines seem to have blurred to the point where we’re all expected to comply, despite the hospitalisations and deaths remaining resolutely low.

Yup - Teesside and due to give birth in 3 weeks 😔 my hospital is already not allowing any visitors but worried my husband won't even be allowed in for the birth at this rate.

Teesside here too but fortunately not in Hartlepool, which will be the first to fall in this neck of the woods. The school bubbles are popping at some rate, I have a ds waiting for a test result and I've taken up the bad habit of shopping for random online tat to distract myself from the stress, pancake flipper anyone?

@FourTeaFallOut I'm in Middlesbrough and I'm seeing at least one school a day releasing a new Covid case update. It's scary!

@otterbaby

Yup - Teesside and due to give birth in 3 weeks 😔 my hospital is already not allowing any visitors but worried my husband won't even be allowed in for the birth at this rate.

If it makes you feel better I had my baby in sunderland hospital in May when the cases were really high in the hospital. I had a lovely experience. It was actually nicer than my other births. The midwives aren't flitting between patients so it's much more attentive. It was sad my kids and parents couldn't visit but I was home in 24 hours. I don't think they will ever say partners can't attend the birth.

I'm in North Tyneside. I get the daily coronavirus update emails for NT, S Tyneside, Gateshead, Newcastle and Sunderland. It's been mad watching the numbers rocketing this week. I also have the pleasure of 8 yr old DD self isolating (therefore so am I) as we are awaiting her Covid test results due to her coming down with temp and cough earlier in the week.

To be fair, this is exactly what I expected and I didn't really have high hopes for autumn and winter. But jesus I'm bored already. Currently trying to order interesting board games online. Surprising amount are sold out!

Im in houghton le spring. AFAIK the burnside club thing spread so easily because there was zero social distancing, no cleaning and people using the karaoke.

Houghton as a area has done really well, even at the height of lockdown we didn't have that many cases so it's incredibly frustrating and worrying particularly with kids back at school

@FourTeaFallOut im not sure I want a pancake flipper, but I'll happily pop round for pancakes as soon as we get some negative test results back?

I think there are more schools with bubbles closed than I've seen on social media. DS2 school has a bubble closed for 2 days now, and I've not seen it reported anywhere yet.

Oh, that's a concern. The number reported on Facebook is enough of a worry without stealth closures. I'm in the Stockton area but we'll be seeing the same updates.

The celebratory socially-distant, to the rule of six, pancakes are on me

I've commented on another thread to say I wasn't happy to comply with the rule of 6 but I might have a rethink. Its not looking good. I'm not scared to catch covid but I really don't want to have to quarantine.
We have been asked to mask up for the school run.

Looks like we are all on the watch list now...

There’s going to be a mobile testing unit in Gateshead centre from tomorrow.
I work in Gateshead, live in South Tyneside. I’ve gone back to my cautious ways this week after just feeling like we were returning to a form of normality. I’m more concerned about passing it on to my parents than me catching it.

Is that a drop-in mobile testing facility? I think that's the only way additional resources will help because the booking system is shockingly bad.

That's good to know. Where did you find that out?
L

I live in houghton. My children’s school is down the road from the burnside club. One of them have come home from school today feeling rubbish so I’m very much on edge. This one event is going to have a massive impact on our community.

Sadly a lot of the local Facebook groups are full of people talking about how “suspicious” it all is and what the governments agenda is 🤦🏼‍♀️