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Blackburn could face tighter coronavirus restrictions in two weeks Coronavirus: Blackburn with Darwen brings in new measures
(about 5 hours later)
Tighter lockdown restrictions could be introduced in Blackburn following a spike in coronavirus cases. New measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Blackburn with Darwen have been introduced after a spike in cases.
People in the town will be asked to limit visitors from another household to two, compared with looser rules elsewhere. For the next month, people living within the Lancashire authority must observe the rules in a bid to avoid a Leicester-style local lockdown.
The area's public health director said stronger measures would be imposed in two weeks if the number of cases did not fall. The new measures include tighter limits on visitors from another household, and officials have called on people to bump elbows in place of handshakes and hugs.
Mass testing began at the weekend after 61 new cases sprang up within a week.Mass testing began at the weekend after 61 new cases sprang up within a week.
Lockdown 'real possibility'
Residents are being told to wear cloth face coverings in all enclosed public spaces, including workplaces, libraries, museums, health centres and hair and beauty salons.
Blackburn with Darwen's public health director, Prof Dominic Harrison, also called for people only to bump elbows with anyone outside their immediate family.
He said public protection advice for small shops was being stepped up to ensure social distancing was being observed.
Targeted testing is taking place in the borough, and residents have been told they do not need to have symptoms to be tested.
Prof Harrison said: "These steps will help and we are appealing to everyone in Blackburn with Darwen to follow them to protect themselves and their loved ones.
"If we don't, a local lockdown, like in Leicester, becomes a very real possibility."
He said increased testing would mean a "rise in the number of cases" in the next seven to 10 days.
If rates were continuing to rise after two weeks, he said, the authority would "have to consider reversing some of the national lockdown lifting measures locally".
This would be done "one by one until we see a reversal in the current rising trend," he said.
"It's up to everyone to make sure we don't have to do that."
He said there would also be "targeted work" after a rise in infections within the South Asian community - in particular "cluster infections" among families living in small terraced houses.
When "one person gets infected in a multi-generational household, all the household members are getting infected", Prof Harrison said.
How Blackburn with Darwen compares
Figures show Blackburn with Darwen now has 41 new cases per 100,000, up from 29.5.Figures show Blackburn with Darwen now has 41 new cases per 100,000, up from 29.5.
Leicester, where a local lockdown has been imposed, has seen the rate fall from 156.8 in the seven days to 26 June, to 114.3 in the seven days to 10 July.Leicester, where a local lockdown has been imposed, has seen the rate fall from 156.8 in the seven days to 26 June, to 114.3 in the seven days to 10 July.
The second highest rate is in Pendle, Lancashire, where it has gone up from 14.2 to 67.8. The second highest rate is in Pendle, Lancashire, where the rate has gone up from 14.2 to 67.8.
Director of public health for Blackburn with Darwen, Prof Dominic Harrison, said there would also be "targeted work" after a rise in infections within the South Asian community.
He said there had been "cluster infections", particularly with "families in small terraced houses".
Prof Harrison said that when "one person gets infected in a multi-generational household, all the household members are getting infected".
He warned: "If the numbers aren't coming down within a two-week period, we will probably need to go into a reversal of some of the lockdown measures."
Information videos are being produced in English, Urdu and Gujurati to spread the message in the former mill town.Information videos are being produced in English, Urdu and Gujurati to spread the message in the former mill town.
"One of the things we don't want to do is to get in a situation like Leicester where everything is open to where everything is shut," Prof Harrison said. Council leader Mohammed Khan said the authority was working to spread the message that "life cannot go back to normal just yet, and we must all make sacrifices to avoid a local lockdown".
Faz Patel, from the Lancashire council of Mosques, remarked that "young people are going out not realising they can be carriers and then going back home to see their elderly parents". "We are doing everything we can to get a grip on the virus, and we need everyone in Blackburn with Darwen to pull together to help us," he said.
"Please continue to do your bit to stick to the rules to protect yourself and your family."
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