Coronavirus: Lockdown tightened in Oldham, Pendle and Blackburn

Image copyright Reuters

Oldham, Pendle and Blackburn will face extra restrictions to stem the spread of coronavirus, the government has said.

Birmingham has been added to the government’s watch list as an ‘Area of Enhanced Support’, and Northampton has become an ‘Area of Intervention’.

Current tighter rules in Wigan, Darwen and Rossendale will be dropped.

Workplaces, childcare facilities and businesses, including restaurants and pubs, will remain open.

Since July, the government has been introducing extra restrictions across parts of northern England and the Midlands after a spike in cases.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “To prevent a second peak and keep Covid-19 under control, we need robust, targeted intervention where we see a spike in cases.

“Our approach is to make the action we take as targeted as possible, with the maximum possible local consensus.”

The spike in cases in Northampton was “almost solely down to an outbreak linked to the workforce at the Greencore Factory”, a Department for Health spokesperson said.

Nearly 300 workers have tested positive, and employees and their households are required to isolate at home for two weeks.

Mr Hancock added the government would introduce a new process to “allow local councils to focus resources onto the wards which need more targeted intervention”.

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