North East leaders want you to stay at home.
North East leaders have begged people to stay at home unless “absolutely necessary”, amid warnings that the coming weeks will be the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic yet.
The new, faster-spreading strain of the virus is now thought to account for around half of all cases in the region – up from roughly 30% a week ago.
And while infection rates in Newcastle, Gateshead, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland and County Durham have not yet escalated in the same way as they have in London and the South East, local officials here say there is “a long way to go” to avoid our hospitals being overwhelmed with Covid patients.
The warning came on the day when the North East’s first Covid-19 mass vaccination centre was opened at Newcastle’s Centre for Life – offering jabs to the over-80s and health and social care staff.
But Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, has cautioned that the UK has not yet hit the peak of the third wave of Covid-19 infections and the next few weeks will be “the worst” of the pandemic for the NHS so far.
More than 80,000 coronavirus deaths have now been recorded in the UK since the start of the pandemic and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that even tougher lockdown rules might be needed to stop soaring infection rates.
In a statement on Monday afternoon, leaders of the LA7 group of councils thanked residents for their efforts to contain the virus and said infection rates here are “at a level that is much lower than other parts of the country”.
According to Newcastle City Council, the average infection rate in the North East is currently 391 new cases per 100,000 people per week – compared to an England average of 607.
But people were also urged to “turn around and go home” if they find themselves in a busy area, after concerns over the weekend of areas such as High Spen in Gateshead being overrun with people heading for walks.
The statement, also signed by the North of Tyne mayor and Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, read: “The current case rate per 100,000 for Tyneside, Wearside, Northumberland and County Durham is less than 400, compared to a rate in excess of 600 per 100,000 for England as a whole.
“The position we find ourselves in may be better than in other parts of the country, but we still have a long way to go and if we are to avoid some of the scenes we’ve seen in London and elsewhere with hospitals reaching capacity with Covid-19 patients, we must continue do everything we can to limit the spread of the virus.
“There is always a delay between the point of infection and people requiring hospital treatment if they become seriously ill, so we cannot afford to let our guard down for a moment if we are to save lives and protect our NHS services.
“What we do know is that the new, more transmissible variant of the virus now accounts for approximately half of all cases in the region. It is well known that this variant is easier to catch and spreads further than the original virus, so we must continue to be vigilant and act like we all have Covid. We cannot allow it to take control.
“For the most part, that means staying at home but for a few exceptional reasons including for exercise, shopping for essentials and travelling to work if you cannot do so from home. You can also leave home to seek help if you are unsafe or at risk of danger. But unless it is absolutely necessary for you to go out, you should stay at home and deny the virus any opportunity to spread.”
The statement was issued by council leaders Nick Forbes, Martin Gannon, Glen Sanderson, Norma Redfearn, Tracey Dixon, Graeme Miller, Simon Henig, plus mayor Jamie Driscoll and PCC Kim McGuinness.
They added: “Stay local if you do have to go out and if you go somewhere that is already busy, turn around and go home. Less traffic on our roads and fewer pedestrians also reduces the likelihood of accidents and prevents further pressure on the NHS.
“Our police forces and local authority enforcement teams have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to engage with the public and keep us safe. By acting responsibly we can help them to focus on essential day-to-day work.
“The vaccination programme is now in operation and the NHS is working to provide protection to the most vulnerable among us and to health and care staff and this is going on at pace.
“We are working with our NHS colleagues to provide buildings and sites, support with staffing, transporting people to get vaccinated, traffic management, winter maintenance – we know our communities and will do everything in our power to support the vaccination roll out.
“Our region is showing that following the rules is effective for preventing the virus from spiralling out of control and we must continue to follow Hands, Face, Space, getting a test if we have symptoms and do everything we can to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities.
“Please stay safe, stay at home where possible and together we will protect the NHS and save lives. Thank You.”