Coronavirus: Are more local lockdowns likely in England?

Image copyright Reuters

Oldham is the latest area of England to introduce new local measures to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The Greater Manchester borough wants to avoid following Leicester, where a rise in cases led to a local lockdown.

What measures are being taken in Oldham?

Residents are being asked not to have social visitors to their homes and to keep two metres apart when outside.

Anyone shielding has been asked to continue to do so until 14 August (elsewhere in England shielding advice is being relaxed from 1 August), and care homes will not relax restrictions.

The restrictions follow a rise in cases in the borough. Data published by Public Health England (PHE) showed 119 cases recorded in the week to 24 July - equivalent to more than 50 per 100,000 population. The week before saw 26 cases recorded.

Oldham follows Rochdale, its neighbouring borough, and Blackburn with Darwen and Pendle in Lancashire, in introducing new restrictions.

What has Leicester's local lockdown involved?

Leicester introduced a strict local lockdown at the beginning of July, because the city's seven-day infection rate had risen to 135 cases per 100,000 people. It has since fallen.

Lockdown measures included:

Closure of non-essential shops (since 24 July these have been able to reopen) No reopening of bars, restaurants and hairdressers Closure of schools except for the children of key workers A limit of up to six people meeting outdoors, with strict social distancing No relaxation of shielding measures

Residents were told to stay at home as much as they were able. People were also told to avoid non-essential travel to, from, and within Leicester.

People or businesses that repeatedly flout the new law could receive fines of up to £3,200.

Image copyright PA Media Image caption The lockdown in Leicester is still largely in force

The lockdown has since been lifted for some suburbs of Leicester, and the government is due to review the situation by 30 July.

What does a local lockdown look like?

On 17 July the prime minister announced new powers for local authorities and central government to stop specific outbreaks of Covid-19.

He said that coronavirus would be controlled "through targeted local action", because more was known about how and where it was spreading.

These actions would range from targeting a hospital, factory, school or one business in a building, to locking down a whole city.

Local authorities were given powers to:

Close specific premises Shut outdoor spaces Cancel events

Ministers have the power to:

Close sectors or types of premises in local areas Introduce localised stay at home orders Reduce the maximum size of gatherings Restrict the use of transport Stop people leaving a certain area

How are places with lots of cases identified?

The government's strategy is to target local clusters or outbreaks.

A cluster is a group of cases in one place like a hospital, factory or school. When clusters are linked, this is called an outbreak.

The government uses data on numbers of cases in a particular place to help decide what action should be taken. More cases are now being identified through testing.

England has more than 250 testing centres, and a dozen walk-in centres are being set up.

If a cluster or outbreak occurs, extra testing equipment, including mobile units, is sent to the affected area. Door-to-door testing may also take place.

Public Health England has also produced a coronavirus watchlist of areas, based on an assessment of incidence rates, and other indicators such as trends in testing, local responses and plans, healthcare activity and mortality.

Can police enforce a lockdown?

Police have powers to enforce a local lockdown. For example, if they believe that somebody is staying away overnight, they can tell them to return home.

Police can also fine people for breaking the rules, and they may also issue a "prohibition notice" directing somebody not to do something.

But if a Leicester resident wanted to go to a bar in Nottingham, for example, there is nothing legally to stop them.

Instead, the government hopes people's sense of civic responsibility will see them follow guidance to stay at home.

What has been said about the rest of the UK?

Public Health Wales said that a local lockdown had been under consideration after an outbreak in Anglesey in June, but this did not come to pass.

In Scotland, public health teams work for the NHS, rather than councils, and the Scottish Government says it is developing a "responsive system of community surveillance" at a national, regional and local level to identify outbreaks quickly.

In Northern Ireland, the government says that any potential clusters or outbreaks will be handled using "appropriate infection control" in line with its normal guidelines for handling the outbreak of any disease.