Public Health England's Weekly Surveillance Report For The North

Nationwide rule of 6 for social gatherings to be implemented from Monday as cases rise across England, alongside call to the public to remain vigilant
Additional restrictions on businesses in Leicester lifted, to be in line with the rest of the country

Following further discussions with local leaders, the Health and Social Care Secretary, NHS Test and Trace, the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) and the Chief Medical Officer for England have agreed this week’s changes to local restrictions across the North of England.

These changes are in addition to the nationwide, 6-person limit on social gatherings that will come into place on Monday. This rule is in place across the country and will sit alongside additional restrictions in some local areas, such as banning mixing between different households.

Lancashire, Merseyside and Yorkshire and Humberside

The following decisions have been made in regards to watchlist categories for the north of England, with no additional restrictions put in place or changes to protected areas:

Leeds has been escalated to an area of enhanced support
Merseyside and Sheffield have been added as areas of concern
designated areas in Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale, Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle and Greater Manchester where restrictions are already in place remain as areas of national intervention
Rossendale, Hyndburn and Burnley remain as areas of enhanced support

West Yorkshire

The ban on indoor household gatherings will continue in urban areas of Bradford where the ban is in place
In Kirklees, the ban on indoor household mixing will continue in Dewsbury and Batley
The ban on indoor household mixing will also continue in parts of Calderdale

Greater Manchester (excluding Bolton)

A ban on households mixing indoors will continue in City of Manchester, Salford, Rochdale, Trafford, Oldham, Bury, Bolton and Tameside
In Oldham, in addition to a household mixing ban indoors, residents will continue to be advised to avoid mixing with anyone from another household anywhere
Stockport will remain an area of enhanced support

Bolton

The regulations outlining restrictions announced in Bolton earlier this week came into effect yesterday evening:

in Bolton, casinos, skating rinks, bowling alleys, exhibition halls, conference centres and indoor play areas (including soft play areas) will remain closed
socially distanced indoor performances will remain closed, and restrictions on certain close contact services will remain
all hospitality for food and drink is restricted to takeaway only
there is a late-night restriction of operating hours in place, meaning venues will be required to close between 10pm and 5am

Lancashire

A ban on 2 households mixing indoors will continue in Preston, Pendle and part of Blackburn
In parts of both Blackburn and Pendle residents will continue to be advised to avoid mixing with anyone from another household

North East

For the North East region:

South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne have been added to the watchlist as areas of enhanced support
Hartlepool has been added to the watchlist as an area of concern
Middlesbrough remains on the watchlist an area of concern

PHE, the JBC and NHS Test and Trace are constantly monitoring the levels of infection and other data on prevalence of the virus across the country. As has always been the case, measures are kept under constant review to reduce the spread of the virus and save lives.