This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-53414937
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Blackburn facing 'rising tide' of coronavirus cases | Blackburn facing 'rising tide' of coronavirus cases |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Blackburn with Darwen is facing a "rising tide" of coronavirus cases centred on terraced houses with high numbers of occupants, the area's public health director has said. | Blackburn with Darwen is facing a "rising tide" of coronavirus cases centred on terraced houses with high numbers of occupants, the area's public health director has said. |
| The Lancashire town brought in extra restrictions on Tuesday following a spike in infections. | The Lancashire town brought in extra restrictions on Tuesday following a spike in infections. |
| Prof Dominic Harrison said the majority of new cases were in the south Asian community. | Prof Dominic Harrison said the majority of new cases were in the south Asian community. |
| He said a phased lockdown could happen if the rise was not halted by 27 July. | He said a phased lockdown could happen if the rise was not halted by 27 July. |
| For the next month, 148,000 people living within the Lancashire authority have been told to observe the new rules in a bid to avoid a Leicester-style local lockdown. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| However, Blackburn with Darwen's public health director Prof Harrison said they would "reverse the measures one by one not a full lockdown like Leicester". | However, Blackburn with Darwen's public health director Prof Harrison said they would "reverse the measures one by one not a full lockdown like Leicester". |
| "We have we had 114 cases in the last two weeks and 97 are south Asian which is why we want to minimise household contact," he added. | "We have we had 114 cases in the last two weeks and 97 are south Asian which is why we want to minimise household contact," he added. |
| "What we are seeing from looking at the postcode data in the last two weeks is a single house being infected and and the whole household becoming infected creating household clusters in part of the town." | "What we are seeing from looking at the postcode data in the last two weeks is a single house being infected and and the whole household becoming infected creating household clusters in part of the town." |
| He said it was causing "rising tide events that they are mainly in south Asian areas and areas with a high number of terraced houses and occupied by four or more five people". | He said it was causing "rising tide events that they are mainly in south Asian areas and areas with a high number of terraced houses and occupied by four or more five people". |
| How Blackburn with Darwen compares | |
| Figures show Blackburn with Darwen recorded 47 new cases per 100,000 in the week ending Saturday, up from 31.6 the previous week. | |
| In Leicester, where a local lockdown has been imposed, the rate has risen from 115 per 100,000 to 118 over the same period. | |
| But this is still down from 152.2 in the seven days to 27 June. | |
| Based on figures released on Tuesday, Pendle in Lancashire currently has England's second-highest rate of new cases for the week, rising from 14.2 per 100,000 to 76.6 in the week to 11 July. | |
| Data obtained via NHS dashboard | |
| Health Secretary Matt Hancock welcomed the extra measures and said Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council was doing "a fantastic job". | |
| "There is a higher rate of Covid in Blackburn than the average across the country, it's not as high as in Leicester," he told BBC Breakfast. | |
| "We've gone in and are supporting them, working with them, for instance put in much more testing. And then they've taken these steps locally and I applaud that. | |
| "This is exactly the sort of local action we want to see." | |
| Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk | Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk |