Tighter lockdown needed to bring down coronavirus rates, Hull NHS boss says
The chief executive of Hull's NHS trust says lockdown measures need to be "tighter" to bring down Covid rates.
Last updated 16th Nov 2020
The boss of Hull's NHS services says tighter restrictions need to be put in place to bring down transmission rates in the city.
Hull became the worst affected area in the country last week- with the infection rate at over 700 per every 100,000.
Now, hospital chief executive Christopher Long says lockdown measures need to go further to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
"A lot of people are going about their normal lives. I think we need tighter restrictions, we saw how the total lockdown worked in wave one and we need to be looking at that sort of approach again."
When asked if schools should close, Mr. Long said "yes" but added that it was a decision for politicians to make.
Should schools close again?
The public health director for children in Hull has told us she doesn't believe now is the right time for schools to close.
Helen Christmas says "we want to priorities quality education and safe education for our children. When there is a case in a school, we work with the school to work out who the contacts are and who needs to be isolating."
But Ms. Christmas has heard reports that schools are struggling with staffing levels because so many teachers are being told to isolate by the Test & Trace system.
The Government's already resisted calls from mayors in Manchester and Liverpool to close schools down again, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also supporting keeping classrooms open.
Where does lockdown leave Hull?
Hull had only just entered the second tier of coronavirus restrictions when the national lockdown was brought in at the start of November.
Rates were slowly creeping up, before soaring in the last couple of weeks. Public Health England estimates its got the highest rates in the whole of the country.
The big question now is: could Hull see tighter restrictions kept in place whilst the rest of the country enjoys more freedom?
The Government is due to review the national lockdown measures at the start of December, with the Prime-Minister under pressure to make sure families can spend Christmas together.
For now, the message to people in Hull is to keep following the rules as closely as possible to bring transmission down.