September 17, 2020 10.33 am This story is over 42 months old

North Lincolnshire threatened with local lockdown as cases triple

People urged to follow distancing rules

North Lincolnshire residents are being threatened with a local lockdown if they don’t follow social distancing rules after a sharp rise in cases recently.

Some 22.1 cases per 100,000 people have been in the area over the most recent seven day period — three times as many as the previous week.

According to the latest government figures, North Lincolnshire has had 830 cases in total so far, and 89 residents have died after contracting COVID-19.

Penny Spring, director of public health at North Lincolnshire Council, said: “We’re on the cusp in North Lincolnshire – we’re not in dire straits yet but we’re probably as close as being so as we have been since early March.

“The infection rate is concerning, but the rate of increase more so.”

She praised people for being “diligent and steadfast” so far, but said it was ”really critical” to stick to guidelines, including self-isolation, to help stop the rise and prevent local outbreaks.

“We understand that we must begin to live with Covid-19 and we must be able to draw back some sense of normality but that is set against the backdrop of us all having a collective responsibility to protect the most vulnerable,” she said.

North Lincolnshire’s seven-day-average is behind the national average of 32.8 per 100,000 people, but has been rising.

However, other health consultants pointed to the fact that more tests were being carried out across the region.

Jilla-Burgess Allen, senior consultant in public health, said: “While the numbers which are coming through are worrying, they must be set into some context – not least the fact that when we first started experiencing a peak in North Lincolnshire the number of tests was significantly less – by a magnitude of 1,000.”

Across Greater Lincolnshire, including Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, there have been 281 cases of coronavirus confirmed so far in September as numbers continue to rise.

Latest coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire

4,053 cases (up 32)

  • 2,954 in Lincolnshire (up 26)
  • 830 in North Lincolnshire (up four)
  • 269 in North East Lincolnshire (up two)

390 deaths (no change)

  • 267 from Lincolnshire (no change)
  • 89 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
  • 34 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)

of which 268 hospital deaths (no change)

  • 144 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
  • 4 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
  • 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
  • 119 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)

378,219 UK cases, 41,684 deaths