Lincolnshire should expect a difficult six weeks ahead after the “game changer” COVID mutation led to the government declaring a national lockdown until March at the earliest.
Local health bosses say the county is “holding its own,” but expect numbers to begin to climb again as the new, up 70% more infectious variant takes hold.
They warned that the new rules should not be seen as a “target” and urged people to follow the regulations in order to drive infection numbers down and relieve pressure on the NHS, with Lincolnshire’s hospital bosses declaring a critical incident.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the lockdown measures on Monday evening, just hours before the came into effect.
Under the new measures:
People must stay at home with leaving only allowed for limited reasons such as shopping for essentials
Primary schools, secondary schools and colleges must move to remote provision of learning
The clinically extremely vulnerable must again shield
Mr Johnson said on Monday the aim was to end the lockdown after February half-term but it would depend on the number of vaccines given out.
But on Tuesday, Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove suggested that the lockdown is likely to be in place until March, when it’s hoped vaccinations take effect.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a statement on Monday, January 4.
Lincolnshire County Council’s assistant director of public health Tony McGinty said he was surprised the lockdown was announced so late, but the new variant had “made it almost inevitable”.
He said: “Our health and social care system is under very great pressure and we need to take whatever measures we can to stop that from getting any worse.”
United Lincolnshire Health Trust, which runs the county’s hospitals, has declared a critical incident due to the demand on bed space and difficulties with staffing, he added.
He urged people to continue to attend for emergencies, but to use the NHS 111 systems if there were non-urgent issues.
Data studies suggested at least two incidents of the new variant have been found in Lincolnshire, however health bosses have not had any official figures.
Lincolnshire’s infection rates are currently well below the England average with just two districts – Lincoln and South Kesteven – sitting above the county average.
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates up to January 4.
Mr McGinty said: “We are still holding our own at the moment and our rates are not too bad when you compare them to the national rates.
“Our sense of what’s coming though is that those numbers will start to climb again and, assuming that the new variant will arrive in Lincolnshire in sufficient numbers to cause problems, we can expect to have a difficult six weeks ahead.”
He added: “It’s really important people take on board that the rules are not a target, they are the limit of what people should be doing.
“The general view is that people should not be mixing with others unless they really need to and if they do they need to be taking really good precautions for their safety.”
He said the new variant had been a “real game changer” in terms of messaging around schools.
Previously, health bosses had said education was far more important for young people who had less chance of catching or transmitting COVID-19.
However, Mr McGinty acknowledged the evidence showed the new variant “spreads much more easily”.
“Whilst it remains true children are not particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, even the new variant, what they are clearly capable of doing is transmitting it during their time at school and taking it back home to people who may be vulnerable.”
Councillor Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “With the new variant causing infection rates to rapidly increase and with hospitals across the country under extreme pressure, it became inevitable that this would happen.
“We realise this will be hugely difficult news for us all, for some more than others and I’m thinking particularly of those living on their own, older people and those with health problems.
“However, we can’t ignore the stark picture before us, and I urge everyone to stick to the new restrictions.
“Stay at home and don’t mix with others apart from your own household or bubble. Keep to the hands, face, space guidelines, and, if you develop any symptoms, no matter how mild, then please self-isolate and get tested.
“Please do get out and exercise as it’s important that you maintain your health and wellbeing at this most difficult of times.
“The new vaccine means we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, let’s not be complacent and let things slip, as we aren’t out of the woods yet.
“The vaccines are effective, even after a single dose, in protecting the most vulnerable people from becoming seriously ill and when these people in our families are vaccinated then life will begin to return to normal.”
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Lincolnshire Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage following a two-vehicle collision in which a 12-year-old boy sadly died.
Following a call to police at 9.48am today (16 January), officers attended the B1190 at Bardney.
The collision involved two vehicles: a silver Mercedes-Benz A220 and a silver Ford Galaxy.
The 12-year-old boy, a passenger in the Galaxy, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Mercedes, a man, has been taken to hospital. The status of his injuries is currently unknown.
Update, 6pm: All road closures have now been lifted. No one else involved in the collision is believed to have sustained any life-threatening nor life-altering injuries.
If you saw the collision, or have information, you can contact police in one of the following ways:
Call 101, quoting Incident 141 of 16 January.
Email [email protected] putting “Incident 141 of 16 January” in the subject line.
North East Lincolnshire’s MPs have stood by the Prime Minister after he apologised for breaking rules by attending a lockdown party.
Grimsby MP Lia Nici dismissed calls for him to resign, saying ‘nobody is perfect’, and Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers said it was the wrong time to call a leadership contest.
Boris Johnson admitted this week he went to a ‘bring your own booze’ party in the first Covid lockdown.
He has apologised for the decision, saying he believed it was work related but regretted it in hindsight.
Although opposition MPs have called for him to resign, Lia Nici, Martin Vickers and other Tories have stood by him for now.
However, the Cleethorpes MP said the party was ‘irresponsible and reckless’.
“He was certainly right to apologise, and the party in question shouldn’t have taken place,” Mr Vickers said.
“I share the anger and frustration of my constituents at these events and it does appear that lockdown rules were broken. That is irresponsible, reckless and unacceptable and disciplinary action, and possibly prosecutions should follow.
“It begs the question of how it got to the stage of the events taking place. Senior figures should have realised that this was wrong and the event should never have got off the ground.”
Grimsby MP Lia Nici (Conservative)
Grimsby MP Lia Nici also welcomed his apology for breaking the rules.
“I think it’s a positive thing that he has apologised for being outside in that garden on that day in 2020,” she said.
“He clearly wanted to thank staff who have been working hard under under Covid rules. Was it advisable to thank them that way though?
“It certainly would have been safer than inside, but the email from the civil servant telling employees to ‘Bring Your Own Booze’ is concerning.
“People are quite rightly upset about it. Everyone should have been following rules that the public were abiding by.”
A probe into the parties is now being carried out by civil servant Sue Gray.
Neither MP joined the Labour party in calling for Mr Johnson to quit – but said the report should come out quickly.
Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers (Conservative) | Photo: Steve Smailes for Lincolnshire Reporter
Mr Vickers said: “My colleagues and I need to consider what’s in the best interest of the country. A leadership contest would paralyse the country while we’re managing the pandemic and a volatile international situation.
“The last thing we want is a complete vacuum of power at the centre of government for six weeks.
“We should wait for Sue Gray’s report into the parties that is being prepared.”
Mrs Nici said: “Nobody is perfect. The Prime Minister is a good man who wants to do the right thing for the UK and Grimsby.
“We need to focus on where we’re going – not having the national media fixated on today.
“However, as a manager and a leader myself, I can say we need to see the report sooner rather than later. If people have intentionally been breaking the rules then there should be disciplinary action.”
If the report finds that Johnson broke rules, it could convince Conservative backbenchers to trigger a leadership contest overthrow him.
Mr Johnson said he hadn’t realised he was at a party and “bitterly regrets” that way that it was handled.
Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer said that Mr Johnson’s denials were “so ridiculous it’s actually offensive” to the public at a heated Prime Minister’s Questions.
New CCTV cameras will be installed north of Lincoln city centre after Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner secured an additional £50,000 of funding.
The original £400,000 scheme came after a successful bid by Lincolnshire’s PCC Marc Jones. This involved broadening the CCTV coverage to include the main walking routes out of Lincoln city centre and in three areas.
The funding will extend the new Safer Streets CCTV and will allow for the creation of 360 coverage out of the city centre. It will now allow the cameras to monitor walking routes to and from Bishop Grosseteste University.
The money for the plan – developed in partnership with the City of Lincoln Council – comes from the government’s Safer Streets Fund.
The scheme also includes funding to develop teaching materials which promote women’s rights and challenge attitudes; a Night Safety Charter pledging to design public spaces to make them safe at night; and training for bar, hotel and restaurant staff regarding vulnerability and tackling predators.
All elements of the plan will be co-developed with women and girls and experts in the field.
Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones. | Photo: Daniel Jaines
The Lincoln-based bid is the third successful Safer Streets bid for Lincolnshire. So far the PCC has brought £500.000 in additional funding to the county for projects in the north and east coast.
“I am delighted to be able to secure additional funding to extend the CCTV cameras even further,” said Mr Jones.
“The project was already going to make a significant difference in helping residents feel and be safe and the extra money will ensure that security is extended to even more people.
“It is excellent news and another step forward in protecting our communities.”
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