Local lockdown laws come into force in Wolverhampton amid second wave warning
Local lockdown laws have come into force in Wolverhampton today ahead of the Prime Minister announcing further restrictions across the country.
Every pub, bar and restaurant in England will be ordered to close by 10pm each night from Thursday under rules Boris Johnson will announce in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday evening.
Mr Johnson will outline new measures to stop the spread of Covid-19, which will also restrict the hospitality sector to table service only, after the UK's top scientists warned the country could see 200 deaths a day by November if action isn't taken.
Meanwhile the local regulations announced for Wolverhampton last week now officially apply to the whole of the borough.
What are the local restrictions?
If you live in Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Birmingham or Solihull:
You must not allow people you don't live with, or who are not part of your support bubble, into your home or garden
You must not visit people you don't live with, or who are not part of your support bubble, in their home or garden. This applies anywhere in the country, not just in the areas with local restrictions.
Only essential visits, such as from carers, are allowed.
Anyone caught breaking the rules could be fined £100 for the first offence, with the fine doubling for each further offence up to a maximum of £3,200.
The rules are the same as those already in place in Sandwell, Solihull and Birmingham and ban people from mixing with people from other households in homes and gardens.
The law applies for residents who live within the Wolverhampton Council area but apply whether people are in the city boundary or elsewhere. Only essential visits, such as from carers or people within a support bubble, are allowed.
While local restrictions are already in place in parts of the UK with high infection rates, the rules the Prime Minister is set to announce will apply to the whole of England.
Mr Johnson was today chairing meetings of Cabinet and the Cobra emergency committee – including the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – ahead of a live, televised address at 8pm.
A Number 10 spokesman said: “No-one underestimates the challenges the new measures will pose to many individuals and businesses.
“We know this won’t be easy, but we must take further action to control the resurgence in cases of the virus and protect the NHS.”
It comes after the UK’s four chief medical officers recommended raising the Covid alert level from three to four – the second highest – indicating the “epidemic is in general circulation; transmission is high or rising exponentially”.
Second wave warning
Hospitals across the region have warned the signs of a second wave are starting to emerge.
Dr Nick Sherwood, intensive care consultant at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, called for people to increase their vigilance, adding: “I don’t want to be treating you or your loved ones in intensive care.”
His colleague Dr Sarb Clare, an acute medical consultant said cases were “rising every day” in the Black Country.
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She said: “Coronavirus has not gone away. Coronavirus kills and cases are rising every day including in our hospitals. We are asking you all please abide by the restrictions in your local area and keep a safe distance from each other.”
Michelle Rhodes, chief nurse at University Hospitals North Midlands, which runs Stafford and Royal Stoke hospitals, said cases were on the rise in Staffordshire too.
She said: “We have seen an increase in people testing positive for Covid-19 in our community. Inevitably this will lead to increased cases in hospital.”
Yesterday a further 321 cases were confirmed across the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire, while 4,368 new cases were announced nationally.
Meanwhile the UK-wide death toll increased by 11 to a total of 41,788.
