LOCAL LOCKDOWN
Brits not to travel in & out of 8 Indian variant hotspots, only meet outside and stay 2m apart – but no-one told locals
BRITS have been ordered not to travel in and out of eight Indian variant hotspots after stealth new restrictions were introduced.
Ministers are warning people not to enter or leave areas where the strain is spreading fastest "unless it is essential".
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And those living there are also subject to tighter social distancing requirements, including only meeting up inside and working from home.
But incredibly local leaders and MPs weren't even told about the changes, which were dumped on the Government website last Friday evening.
There was no public announcement, and they didn't find out until last night when journalists started to flag the new guidance.
The change in the rules effectively partially scraps the latest round of unlocking for people in the hotspots.
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The new Government guidance states: “The new Covid-19 variant spreads more easily from person to person. To help stop the spread, you should take particular caution when meeting anyone outside your household or support bubble.
“In the areas listed, wherever possible, you should try to meet outside rather than inside where possible, keep two metres apart from people that you don’t live with (unless you have formed a support bubble with them), this includes friends and family you don’t live with, [and] avoid travelling in and out of affected areas unless it is essential, for example for work (if you cannot work from home) or education.”
It applies to Bedford, Blackburn, Bolton, Burley, Kirklees, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside.
The reported that public health officials in Bolton had not been informed of the change.
Latest data shows the number of hospital admissions in the town has risen to 43 due to the spread of the new variant.
The guidance says travelling for work or education - if you cannot work or study from home - is considered essential travel.
It covers the areas governed by Bedford Borough Council, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Bolton Metropolitan Council and Burnley Borough Council.
Also included are Kirklees Council, Leicester City Council, the London Borough of Hounslow and North Tyneside Council.
Yasmin Qureshi, Labour MP for Bolton South East and shadow international development minister, said: "I was not informed of this and I understand nor was anyone else in Bolton.
"I'm just gobsmacked. They're making such an important announcement and they don't even have the decency to tell us or tell our constituents.
"The least I would expect is a letter or email from (Matt Hancock) or his office as a matter of courtesy.
"Further and more importantly, my constituents needed to know. Many will have planned for the long weekend, bought tickets, made arrangements.
"And it's still not clear if this is advisory or legally obligatory.
"This is typical of this Government's incompetence."
Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, chairwoman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, also slammed the stealthy nature of the move.
She said: “This is a major change to policy that will have a huge impact on people’s lives.
"Simply updating the Government website without an official announcement is a recipe for confusion and uncertainty.
"Local people and public health leaders in these areas need urgent clarity from the government.
"Matt Hancock must come before Parliament and make a public statement to explain these new rules."
Newly elected West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin added the change could cause "anxiety and confusion".
And she vowed to raise the matter urgently with vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi on Tuesday.
She tweeted: "If Govt are concerned we need clear guidance and support not advice that could cause anxiety and confusion."
Local chiefs were also gobsmacked today.
Prof Dominic Harrison, director of public health for Blackburn with Darwen, said he hadn't been told about the guidance.
He said: "Areas involved were not consulted with, warned of, notified about, or alerted to this guidance.
"I have asked to see the national risk assessment which supports this action - it has not been provided to us yet."
North Tyneside's local health chief Wendy Burke questioned why the new rules weren't raised in an announcement about more mass testing last week.
She said: "This has not been accompanied by any communication to the local authority, local residents or businesses.
"We have already queried this with the Department of Health and Social Care to seek clarification.
"We will continue to work with Government on our enhanced testing and vaccination plan which is now in place."
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Cabinet minister Therese Coffey today defended the Government's handling of the shambles and said nobody should be surprised by the new rules.
The work and pensions secretary said: "The PM laid out that we need to take extra caution in certain areas regarding the Indian variant.
"I'm surprised to hear people think this has come out of the blue - it hasn't.
"It's about formalising on the record the guidance we believe people can and should follow to make sure we don't have more spread of the Indian variant."
A Government spokesman added: "Working with local authorities, we took swift and decisive action to slow the spread of the B1.617.2 (India) variant by introducing surge testing and bringing forward second doses of the vaccine for the most vulnerable.
"We provided additional guidance for those living in affected areas when we became aware of the risk posed by the variant, to encourage people to take an extra cautious approach when meeting others or travelling."
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It is understood the guidance was first introduced for Bolton as far back as May 14, meaning it has secretly been in place for weeks.
Read More on The Sun
The new rules were not mentioned in an official announcement about beefed-up testing measures in the area published on the same date.
Other regions were included in the essential travel guidance as data from surge testing became available.
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Professor John Ashton warns of confusion as as Government tells Brits not to travel in and out of 8 Indian Covid hotspots
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