Birmingham and West Midlands ‘to move to Tier 3 lockdown next week’ after ‘very worrying’ Covid rise, Mayor says

BIRMINGHAM and the West Midlands are set to move into a tier three lockdown next week after a "very worrying" rise in coronavirus cases.

City council leader Ian Ward said officials "have to do something more" to stem increasing infections - and the region will fall under the toughest tier unless new cases slow.

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If the situation continues, hospitality venues will be forced to close.

Pubs and bars will be shuttered unless they can offer punters a 'significant meal'.

Residents also won't be able to meet with people from different households and support bubbles inside.

There are more than 300 patients with coronavirus in hospital beds at University Hospitals Birmingham.

Of that number, 34 are fighting for life in intensive care.

Mr Ward told : "Case rate numbers are going up, and we have to do something more.

"We will be moving into tier three."

The city has a rate of 259 new cases per 100,000 residents. By comparison, Blackburn with Darwen - which remains the UK's worst-hit area - has a rate of 774.9 cases per 100,000 people.

The rising numbers of new cases in the city have led to hospitals beginning to postpone routine procedures and appointments.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, England's largest, had a 27 per cent increase in the numbers of patients with the disease it was treating in the five days to October 28.

Mr Ward said cases aren't currently rising "like they are in some areas of the country" - but said that while the city's "curve is flatter", cases are continuing to rise.

 "All the indicators are there," he said.

“The Government are firm on what is on offer financially - it will be on a par with the support offered to Greater Manchester and Liverpool region and elsewhere.” 

Yesterday saw 44 new Covid-19 deaths recorded across Birmingham and the Midlands - the highest figure for five months.

The West Midlands was discussed at yesterday’s Gold Command meeting with Health Secretary Matt Hancock, which concluded that more restrictions are urgently needed - barring a rapid downturn in cases.

Meanwhile, it's understood that the Government will make an announcement today over its plans for West Yorkshire.

Local leaders have demanded extra cash to combat rising Covid-19 levels in their area.

So far Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, Lancashire, Liverpool City region, Warrington, Nottingham and parts of Nottinghamshire have all been pushed into the highest level of Covid restrictions.

WHO special envoy Professor David Nabarro today said lockdowns in the North have slowed the spread of the virus.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This virus has been picking up extraordinary energy over the last three or four weeks and it is indeed surprising just how ferocious the current surges have become.”

Prof Nabarro said the UK has “apparently been able to slow the spread in some parts of the North of the country through very effective local action”.

“What that’s led to is a sort of levelling up and it seems that southern parts of the UK are speeding up,” he said.

But Professor Paul Elliott, director of the React programme at Imperial from the School of Public Health, said more needs to be done to reduce “very high” levels of Covid-19 in the region.

“I think we have to do something more now to really try and certainly reduce the very high levels that we are seeing in parts of the north of the country,” he told BBC Breakfast.

Prof Carl Heneghan, from Oxford University, told MailOnline the idea of a second nationwide shutdown was "incredibly harmful".

"Lockdown should be a last resort to protect the NHS. People calling for it need to realise it is a blunt tool that will just kick the can down the road," he said.

"We need to get the message out now that this is not going away, it's about managing Covid-19's impact."

Prof Heneghan was speaking out after claims Sage scientists have said all of England will be plunged into more severe Tier 3 restrictions by mid-December - throwing Christmas plans into chaos.

Their model suggests the second wave will be more deadly than the first, with a "lower but longer peak".

It means while deaths might not reach the sharp highs of April, we could see around 500 deaths a day for a longer period of time.