The Government has confirmed that almost every part of Lancashire is being placed under fresh local lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The Department for Health made the announcement at midday today (September 18), in which it confirmed restrictions over the entire boroughs of Preston, Lancaster, Wyre, Fylde, Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Ribble Valley, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn, and Rossendale.
Blackpool is not included in today's huge shake up despite sources saying earlier saying part of the town may be subject to fresh measures.
Restrictions will forbid residents from socialising with members of other households outside of their support bubbles in all settings. This includes homes and private gardens, public parks, pubs, restaurants and beer gardens.
Hospitality for food and drink will also be restricted to table service only.
The measures echo those reported by LancsLive on Thursday evening.
In Lancashire, Hyndburn has the current third worst infection rate in all of England, with 132 new cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to September 13. This was an increase from 64.2 over the previous seven days, with 107 new cases.
Preston has the fourth worst, with a rate of 125.8, rising from 75.5 after 180 further people tested positive for Covid-19.
Burnley sits fifth on the list, with a rate of 124.8, rising from 70.9 over the previous week. It saw 111 new cases in the most recent week of data.
Blackburn with Darwen is sixth on the list, with a rate of 120.2, rising from 73.5 due to 180 new cases.
Rossendale has an infection rate of 96.5, rising from 44.8, and while not in the top 10 worst affected areas in England, shows just how quickly Covid is spreading at this very moment.
Elsewhere, there are current Covid spikes in South Ribble and Chorley.
Last week, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health for Lancashire County Council, told LancsLive "we must not hesitate to bring in control measures swiftly" if the situation worsens.
And yesterday he added his frustration to his current testing fiasco, saying the system is "reaching a breaking point".
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson has said he is expecting the North West to be included in any announcement by the Government, given the infection rates across the region.
The rate in Liverpool has shot up to 106.4 from 56.8, while Bolton remains the worst affected in England with a rate of 204.1.
This is a live blog. For the latest updates, see below.
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Key Events
The main developments as lockdown worsens across Lancashire
Thank you for following this live blog today. We hope it was useful to you.
We will continue with Covid-19 updates from tomorrow morning (Saturday, September 19) as Lancashire continues to come to terms with the new state of play.
For now, here is a round up of the most important updates to Lancashire’s fight against coronavirus:
- Government confirms almost all of Lancashire to have lockdown restrictions
- Why Blackpool isn’t included in local lockdown restrictions
- The new Lancashire lockdown rules and what they mean for residents
- Lancashire press conference to address vast new lockdown rules
- A record 412 new cases of Covid across Lancashire in the last 24 hours
- ‘Let’s not flock to Blackpool’, Lancashire health boss urges as restrictions come in everywhere but the seaside town
- Lancashire residents told not to mix with other households in any social setting - despite it being legal to do so
- Every neighbourhood in Blackburn, Blackpool, Preston and all of Lancashire avoiding coronavirus spikes
Lancashire residents told not to mix with other households in any social setting - despite it being legal to do so
While the law doesn’t forbid it, Lancashire’s coronavirus response leaders want all residents to avoid mixing with households in any social settings.
Despite there being no legal restriction on going to pubs and restaurants with members of other households - and there being no rules in place in Blackpool - Lancashire Resilience Forum leaders are urging residents in every corner of Lancashire to not mix with people who they don’t live with or who are not in their social bubbles.
Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health for Lancashire County Council, said Lancashire is reaching the “cusp of a critical point in our pandemic”.
Legally, you can still go to the pub or a restaurant with five other people from any household; as per the national ‘rule of six’ brought in earlier this week.
But the advice is to not do this, with Angie Ridgwell, chair of the LRF and chief executive of Lancashire County Council, saying it is residents’ “moral obligation” to protect their families and others.
'Let's not flock to Blackpool'
Blackpool is the only council area in Lancashire that will not have local lockdown restrictions in place as of Tuesday, September 22.
And Lancashire residents have now been warned not to “flock” to the seaside town despite this.
Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health for Lancashire County Council said there is an obligation to “keep Blackpool safe” and avoid the situation worsening.
He added that Lancashire “cannot afford” further restrictions that would impact the economy.
412 new cases of Covid across Lancashire in the last 24 hours
A staggering 412 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Lancashire in the last 24 hours.
It is the largest daily increase on record; coinciding with far more people being tested than ever.
There were new cases in every Lancashire borough, with with only the Ribble Valley seeing a single figure increase.
Blackburn with Darwen fared the worst, with 70 people confirmed to have the virus in the most recent 24 hour testing window.
The number of daily confirmed cases of coronavirus by Lancashire borough as of Friday, September 18:
- Blackburn with Darwen: 2,234 (+70), 1,492.4 per 100,000
- Blackpool: 1,215 (+29), 871.3 per 100,000
- Burnley: 848 (+32), 953.7 per 100,000
- Chorley: 826 (+14), 698.7 per 100,000
- Fylde: 551 (+13), 682.1 per 100,000
- Hyndburn: 702 (+50), 866.2 per 100,000
- Lancaster: 991 (+15), 678.6 per 100,000
- Pendle: 1,084 (+27), 1,176.8 per 100,000
- Preston: 1,752 (+77), 1,277.8 per 100,000
- Ribble Valley: 264 (+6), 433.6 per 100,000
- Rossendale: 520 (+41), 727.5 per 100,000
- South Ribble: 685 (+12), 618.3 per 100,000
- West Lancashire: 908 (+23) 794.4 per 100,000
- Wyre: 776 (+23), 671.8 per 100,000
Press conference
Lancashire Resilience Forum press conference discussing the new measures is about to begin.
We are covering it live, here.
One death recorded
One person, who had tested positive for coronavirus, died at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals on September 15. The trust managed Preston and Chorley hospitals.
Pendle oppose new lockdown measures
Councillor Mohammed Iqbal, Leader of Pendle Borough Council said:
We’ve been asking for a relaxation of rules in Pendle which we believe is entirely reasonable because we’ve kept a lid on rising COVID-19 cases locally, thanks to following our plan of getting people with and without symptoms tested.
Around 25,000 people in Pendle have been tested and the vast majority of people have been following the safe distancing, face coverings and hand-washing rules.
Pendle has been doing really well in the battle to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
That’s why we’re disappointed to find that local people are continuing to have to follow tighter measures here because more people are testing positive in other areas of the country.
Despite what the Government says, we haven’t asked for these restrictions and they are not a fair or fitting approach for Pendle. Our request to the Government remains unchanged. We are still aiming for an easing of restrictions in Pendle in line with those in place in the rest of England.
The new Lancashire lockdown rules and what they mean for residents
The new restrictions prohibit households from mixing in homes and gardens, with residents banned from meeting other people outside of their own households or support bubble in private homes and gardens.
Hospitality for food and drink will be restricted to table service only.
Late night operating hours will be restricted, with leisure and entertainment venues including restaurants, pubs, and cinemas, required to close between 10pm to 5am.
Residents are also advised to only use public transport for essential purposes, such as travelling to school or work.
People are asked to avoid attending amateur and semi-professional sporting events as spectators.
Residents are urged to only visit indoor locations such as pubs and restaurants with other members of their household or support bubble.
South Ribble and Chorley response
Paul Foster, Leader of South Ribble Borough Council: said: “The cases of covid19 across Lancashire have been a concern for some time and the recent surge in cases across the region has led to these new restrictions coming into place.
“This is and will continue to be a challenging time for all of us and we absolutely appreciate that. The Government’s decision to implement these restrictions has not come lightly and is for the benefit of all of us to tackle this pandemic.
“What we know for sure, is that in South Ribble our strength is in our communities and I’m certain we can all work together following the new guidelines to get the cases down.
“There are now stricter rules on household mixing, trips to pubs, restaurants and other premises. We know this will be difficult for our residents and business but please be assured that the Council will do all we can to support you.
“Let’s all take this opportunity to work together to keep each other safe.”
Councillor Alistair Bradley, Leader of Chorley Council said: “This is going to be a challenging time for all of us, but it is something which has had to happen to ensure the safety of all across Lancashire. The rates across the region have been a concern for weeks and they are still on the rise.
“The new restrictions will see stricter rules on household mixing, trips to pubs, restaurants and other premises. We’re all now going to have to work together now and do everything we can to help get the cases down.
“We appreciate it will be difficult and challenging times will be on the horizon, but it’s so important that we stick to the rules – it’s the only way we can tackle the pandemic. Please be assured that you are not alone in this, the council – as we have been doing since the start – will do all we can to support our communities to navigate the changes.
“I have absolute faith that the communities across Chorley do the right thing and that these restrictions will lead to a drop in Covid cases in the area.”
New statements from the Lancashire Resilience Forum
Lancashire County Council’s Director of Public Health, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, said:
The past six months have been really tough for everyone and so many people have made personal sacrifices for the good of their loved ones and the communities where they live and work.
But we have seen really worrying signs of the infection rate increasing in Lancashire. The daily cases have doubled from 75 cases on the 6th September to 144 on the 14th . Although still in small numbers, we are also seeing that hospital admissions rise two weeks after the cases increased. If we don’t act now we could be facing another lockdown. The situation really is that stark.
We are particularly seeing a high rate of positive cases in the 15 to 44 age group, and our concern is that this will spill into the older and vulnerable groups. Please do not mix between households indoors and keep outdoor mixing as low as possible. Use public transport only for essential journeys like school, work and health appointment. Try to stay and shop locally.
I would also say that we should be setting as good an example as possible for our children to encourage them to also be better at following the guidance now that pupils have returned to school.
Angie Ridgwell, chair of the Lancashire Resilience Forum, which is leading the response to coronavirus in the county, said:
The rates of the virus across Lancashire continue to increase and for the safety of all our residents we need to take more wide reaching action to get this under control. While hospital admissions are low at the moment, they are rising and deaths will follow unless we all step up.
We know that the virus is spreading in social settings and therefore we need to reduce social mixing.
We have to do this so our children can go to school which is so important for their future, key workers can go to work and provide vital services and wherever possible we can keep our local businesses up and running.
I want to thank everyone who has already played a big part by adhering to these asks and now everyone needs to help. Please do this to protect yourself, your family and those you love. Don’t mix outside of your household and ensure these new restrictions are lifted as soon as possible.”
New restrictions for Lancashire
A Government announcement has been made about new restrictions across Lancashire, excluding Blackpool.
The announcement says:
“In Lancashire (excluding Blackpool and Greater Manchester),Merseyside, Warrington and Halton regulations will enforce the following restrictions from Tuesday 22 September:
Residents must not socialise with other people outside of their own households or support bubble in private homes and gardens;
Hospitality for food and drink will be restricted to table service only; and
Late night operating hours will be restricted, with leisure and entertainment venues including restaurants, pubs, and cinemas, required to close between 10pm to 5am.
Residents are also advised to adhere to the following guidance to further reduce rates of infection:
Only to use public transport for essential purposes, such as travelling to school or work
Avoid attending amateur and semi-professional sporting events as spectators.
The above does not apply to Bolton or Greater Manchester where separate restrictions are already in place.
'Self-employed need further help'
The Government is being urged to introduce a new round of support for the self-employed to avoid the threat of many going out of business.
The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) called for an extension to the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
Around two million individuals have so far benefited from the scheme, but IPSE warned that without further support, many businesses will fail, while an estimated 1.5 million self-employed have been excluded from it altogether.
Every neighbourhood in Blackburn, Blackpool, Preston and all of Lancashire avoiding coronavirus spikes
While further restrictions are being brought in across Lancashire, there are many areas in the county where the transmission of coronavirus remains low.
Using the latest Covid-19 data map from Public Health England, there are dozens of hyper local areas where there have been between zero and two cases of coronavirus in the most recent seven days of testing.
So while there are many places across Lancashire where cases remain seriously high, and further lockdown restrictions are inevitable, there are swathes of the county where Covid transmission is staying low - for the time being.
For every area in Lancashire showing between zero and two cases of coronavirus in the seven days to Saturday, September 12, click here
Care home visit restrictions loom
Tighter restrictions on care home visits in areas with high numbers of coronavirus cases are expected to be announced by the Government in its winter action plan.
Care homes in areas subject to local lockdowns may be advised to temporarily restrict visits in all but end-of-life situations, it is understood.
For parts of the country where there is no local lockdown, but where community transmission is a cause for concern, an option officials are considering is advising that visits are restricted to one designated visitor per resident.
It is understood a tailored approach determined by community transmission rates is being considered rather than a blanket ban, which charities have warned against.
The Government will set out further details on Friday in its social care action plan to help fight the spread of coronavirus over winter.
As part of the plan, care homes will receive free protective equipment and providers must stop “all but essential” movement of staff between homes, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
Uncertainty over announcement timing
There is a level of uncertainty surrounding the timing of the Government's announcement today regarding local restrictions.
Initially, it was believed that the announcement would be made at around 11am.
However local authorities have now said that they expect the news to come 'later today'.
Follow here for live updates throughout the day.
Lancashire Resilience Forum statement
Angie Ridgwell, chair of the Lancashire Resilience Forum, has said:
We are expecting an announcement later today by Government that the majority of Lancashire will be subject to new measures in order to bring down the rate of Covid-19 infections.
Over the last two weeks, we have unfortunately seen significant increases in the number of cases in most towns and cities in our county.
The Government reviews the situation weekly and can implement new measures if deemed necessary to control the spread.
We are awaiting the full regulations and guidelines, but will let you know what it means for you and our county as soon as we can.
We all want to get back to normal, and we know this news will be difficult for people to hear. These decisions are not taken lightly and are in the interest of everyone’s health and safety.
Lancashire press conference
A press conference on Lancashire’s new local Covid measures is set to take place at 3pm.
Members of the Lancashire Resilience Forum, which is leading the county’s Covid response, will be taking questions from LancsLive and other local media outlets.
Those confirmed on the call will be:
- Angie Ridgwell, chair of the Lancashire Resilience Forum and chief executive of Lancashire County Council
- Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health for Lancashire
- Denise Parks, chief executive of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
National testing aim is 500,000 a day by the end of October
Matt Hancock said the Government would increase coronavirus testing to half a million per day, up from a quarter of a million per day currently, by the end of October.
He said:
We’re doing that by getting more machines into the labs, we’re installing those as we speak.
We’re hiring more people to run them because it is a logistical exercise as well as the scientific parts of it, just to get the samples into the right slots.
We’re automating that process which is important. That’s on the current technology, then there’s the much-discussed next-generation technology.
Mr Hancock referenced a new testing system, created by company DnaNudge, which is reported to provide results of coronavirus tests in 90 minutes.
Blackpool expected to avoid measures
Blackpool may have escaped Covid measures altogether, as per source, despite claims last night that parts of the town were entering lockdown restrictions.
An official announcement will be made at 11am.
National lockdown on the cards
The UK’s Health Secretary has not ruled out a second national lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Responding to reports that ministers are considering further national measures, even for just a two-week period, such as imposing a curfew on bars and restaurants, Matt Hancock said a national lockdown was the “last line of defence”.
However, the “great hope” is that people will heed current advice to help manage a “very serious” situation, he said.
He said the current approach was “targeted interventions” but couldn’t rule out a national lockdown in the future.
An announcement on further local restrictions across Lancashire is expected today, with the “majority” of Lancashire expected to see tighter measures introduced.
It comes as the government has seen huge criticism from ministers over the NHS Test and Trace system as the demand for tests soars against capacity, with four times the number of people trying to book a test as the number of tests available.
Experts have said that without effective testing and tracing, it will be much harder to control the spread of the virus and pinpoint larger outbreaks.
The latest data showed that hospital admissions are now doubling every eight days, Mr Hancock told BBC Breakfast, amid warnings that deaths will also rise in the coming weeks.
Merseyside expecting lockdown restrictions like the North East
Merseyside will be placed under lockdown restrictions at least as severe as those imposed on the North East today, the Liverpool ECHO understands.
Officials have now been told by government that the new measures placed on the entire region will be the same as those brought in for the North East today.
This includes a ban on people mixing in private homes and gardens with people outside of their household or support bubble, a 10pm curfew on leisure and entertainment venues and hospitality venues to operate as table service only.
Update from 11am
More information on lockdown measures across Lancashire is expected from 11am.
The Government is due to make an announcement.
We will update you as soon as we know more.
Health Secretary 'wants to avoid' national lockdown
Bringing in another national lockdown would be “the last line of defence”, Heath Secretary Matt Hancock has said.
Asked about the possibility of a two-week imposition of national restrictions to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, Mr Hancock told Sky News: “A national lockdown is the last line of defence and we want to use local action.”
He added: “I want to avoid a national lockdown.”
Councils issue statements
The Government will make an announcement today on new lockdown measures across Lancashire, it has been confirmed.
Councils across the county, including Hyndburn, Preston, Chorley, South Ribble and Rossendale have all provided updates this morning (September 18) from the Lancashire Resilience Forum, confirming that a Government announcement is due.
The majority of Lancashire will be subject to new measures in order to bring down the rate of Covid-19 infections, it has been established.
LancsLive expects the Government is due to bring in restrictions across the county including Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle, Burnley, Rossendale, Preston, Lancaster and Hyndburn, Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Ribble Valley, Wyre and Fylde, and parts of Blackpool following a rise in infections over the past two weeks.
It follows new measures coming in to the North East of England, which has a significantly lower infection rate that many areas of Lancashire.
Chorley Council expecting 'new measures covering majority of Lancashire'
Chorley Borough Council has said it is expecting ‘new measures covering the majority of Lancashire’ to be announced today.
No time has been given at this stage for the announcement from central government.
A council spokesperson said:
We are expecting an announcement later today by Government that the majority of Lancashire will be subject to new measures in order to bring down the rate of Covid-19 infections.
Over the last two weeks, we have unfortunately seen significant increases in the number of cases in most towns and cities in our county.
The Government reviews the situation weekly and can implement new measures if deemed necessary to control the spread.
We are awaiting the full regulations and guidelines but will let you know what it means for you and our county as soon as we can.
We all want to get back to normal, and we know this news will be difficult for people to hear. These decisions are not taken lightly and are in the interest of everyone’s health and safety.
Both Lancashire and Merseyside expecting announcements
Both Lancashire and Merseyside are expecting announcements from the Government on restrictions.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson told BBC Breakfast he would welcome action in Merseyside.
He said: “The measures the Government will be likely to impose on Liverpool today, similar to what they did with the North East yesterday, is unfortunate but welcome because what I am worried about is that, if we don’t tackle the measures now, then we will head towards the winter and Christmas period where we could be in a real difficult position, not just here but across the country.”
Breakdown of Lancashire's 204 new cases
Hundreds of new coronavirus cases have been confirmed across Lancashire as most of the county heads into lockdown.
A total of 204 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, according to new data from Public Health England released yesterday (September 17).
The majority of the new cases were confirmed in Preston, Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Rossendale and Blackpool.
Every area of the county recorded at least one new case. However, the number was lower than that recorded the day before amid issues with testing capacity across the UK.
Case data is now being based on people being tested both through ‘Pillar 1’ - which is in hospitals - and Pillar 2 - which is drive-through test centres and swabs sent by post.
The number of daily confirmed cases of coronavirus by Lancashire borough as of Thursday, September 17:
- Blackburn with Darwen: 2,194 (+30), 1,465.6 per 100,000
- Blackpool: 1,201 (+15), 861.3 per 100,000
- Burnley: 825 (+9), 927.8 per 100,000
- Chorley: 817 (+5), 691.1 per 100,000
- Fylde: 543 (+5), 672.2 per 100,000
- Hyndburn: 681 (+29), 840.3 per 100,000
- Lancaster: 981 (+5), 671.7 per 100,000
- Pendle: 1,071 (+14), 1,147.5 per 100,000
- Preston: 1,792 (+40), 1,252 per 100,000
- Ribble Valley: 262 (+4), 430.3 per 100,000
- Rossendale: 499 (+20), 698.1 per 100,000
- South Ribble: 679 (+6), 612.9 per 100,000
- West Lancashire: 894 (+9) 782.1 per 100,000
- Wyre: 766 (+13), 683.4 per 100,000
No coronavirus-related deaths were recorded in hospitals in Lancashire according to yesterday’s NHS figures.
https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/breakdown-lancashires-204-new-cases-18954459
Lancaster & Fleetwood MP confirms announcement
MP for Lancaster & Fleetwood, Cat Smith said:
“We are expecting a Government announcement later today that the majority of Lancashire will be subject to new measures in order to bring down the rate of Covid-19 infections. Over recent weeks, we have seen increases in the number of cases.
“We are still waiting for the full details of regulations and guidelines but I’ll update to let you know what it means for you as soon as I can.
“We all want to get back to normal, and we know this news will be difficult for people to hear. #LetsDoItForLancashire”
Announcement due
An announcement from the Government is expected today
A spokesperson for the Lancashire Resilience Forum said:
We are expecting an announcement later today by Government that the majority of Lancashire will be subject to new measures in order to bring down the rate of Covid-19 infections. Over the last two weeks, we have unfortunately seen significant increases in the number of cases in most towns and cities in our county.
The Government reviews the situation weekly and can implement new measures if deemed necessary to control the spread.
We are awaiting the full regulations and guidelines but will let you know what it means for you and our county as soon as we can.
We all want to get back to normal, and we know this news will be difficult for people to hear.
These decisions are not taken lightly and are in the interest of everyone’s health and safety.
