HOUSEHOLDS in parts of northern England face tighter restrictions on meeting others, while holidaymakers coming back from Croatia and Austria are forking out to get home before Saturday’s early-morning quarantine deadline.
Tougher measures were announced for areas of Greater Manchester and Lancashire, with people now being advised not to socialise with anyone outside their household, and funerals and weddings limited to 20 people.
The Government said it was concerned that a rise in people testing positive for coronavirus in Oldham, Blackburn and Pendle was due to “social mixing” particularly among 20 to 39-year-olds.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said “robust, targeted intervention” is needed to avoid a second wave of the virus.
From midnight on Saturday, people in the affected areas are being advised not to use public transport unless essential and restaurants being encouraged to take reservations only.
The measures, which stopped short of a full lockdown under which businesses would be required to close, were broadly welcomed by local leaders.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Combined Authority said: “Increased measures to restrict the mixing of households are a much more sensible approach than local lockdown.”
Birmingham has been added to a watch list as an “area of enhanced support” as the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said infections are “rising quickly”, with 30.2 cases per 100,000 and more than half of cases in the last week in people aged 18-34.
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