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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A Lincoln man who returned to selling cannabis by post has been given a last chance to avoid going back to prison.
George Holmes, 48, was jailed for two years in 2016 after he was caught despatching vacuum sealed bags from post offices in North Hykeham and the south of Lincoln.
Holmes, who was then living at an address in Victoria Street, Bracebridge, was traced after sending out packages from Swanpool post office and then being spotted using a nearby cash machine.
Lincoln Crown Court heard at that time Holmes was such a prolific customer at Hykeham post office that staff openly referred to him as “the cannabis man” as they could smell the contents of his parcels.
Subsequent investigations revealed that customers were making regular payments directly into his bank account and concealing the transaction under the heading of computer repairs.
Holmes was jailed for 24 months for the drugs offences in March 2016 but again came to the attention of the authorities in the Summer of 2019.
Caroline Bradley, prosecuting, said: “On July 19, 2019 the post office reported to the police that they had intercepted 18 packages which they suspected to contain cannabis.”
Miss Bradley told the court eleven packages containing cannabis were recovered during the investigation and police searched Holmes’ flat.
“There was some organisation in this case,” Miss Bradley added.
During his police interview Holmes denied supplying drugs and claimed that no-one else had been in his flat for several months.
However Holmes, now of St Rumbold Street, Lincoln, later pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
The court heard Holmes was now free of his previous heroin addiction and had been making great progress for four months since moving to a settled address at the YMCA.
Neil Sands, mitigating, told the court: “They regard him as a model tenant.”
Recorder Michael Auty QC told Holmes: “You were going back to what you did in 2016.”
The Recorder agreed to defer sentence on Holmes for six months but warned him that he would return to jail if he did not stay clean or committed any other offences.
Recorder Auty added: “You have been to jail, and jail did not cure you.”
Holmes agreed to sentence being deferred for six months. Mr Sands added: “He would like the chance to prove he can be a model citizen.”
New CCTV and a well-being hub for people seeking help are among the improvements at the Humber Bridge as the footpaths and cycleways reopened on Thursday.
They had been closed for more than a month in an emergency move after six people, including a teenage girl from Willerby near Hull, lost their lives at the bridge between March 3 and April 3 this year.
New CCTV has been installed and the paths on either side of the bridge will be open between 5am and 9pm every day. Pedestrians and cyclists who intend to cross must also register with the bridge board beforehand, according to Labour MP Emma Hardy.
Specially trained mental health volunteers will patrol the area and the new well-being hub in the country park will provide a place for people to seek help.
Staff from Lincolnshire charity Bearded Fishermen will walk over the bridge to support people during the evenings between 7.30 to 9.30pm.
It is estimated that over 200 people were reported to have jumped or fallen from the bridge, with only five survivors, in the first 26 years since its opening.
The father of a young man who lost his life previously said more needed to be done to prevent suicides in the area, but closing the footpath was not the answer.
Almost 10,000 people signed a petition to improve safety measures at the bridge. Those who backed the campaign called for more physical safety measures such as barriers.
Cycle UK Has also been campaigning for action over the closure of the bridge to pedestrians and cyclists since it was closed in April.
Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK head of campaigns, said: “For over a month the Humber Bridge has been closed to all pedestrians and anyone cycling save for those commuter cyclists who managed to get through a cumbersome registration process, so a partial reopening tomorrow is welcome progress.
“But the tragic loss of life along the bridge has been a chronic problem for over a decade, requiring investment in long term infrastructure and intervention measures, whilst banning people on foot or a bike from crossing the bridge was only ever a kneejerk reaction which didn’t address the causes or long-term solutions.
“Cycling UK hopes that the Humber Bridge Board will at last recognise the importance of maintaining cycle and pedestrian access while improving suicide prevention measures, and if they must have a registration system for people to cross, make it simple, easily accessible, with registration and other restrictions being time-limited rather than permanent.”
The curtain is almost ready to raise for the return of cinemas, and Lincolnshire’s movie theatres are preparing for their comeback.
Cinemas across Lincolnshire will be allowed to reopen on May 17, as part of the next stage of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown.
The Lincoln Odeon on the waterfront took to social media on May 6 to announce that its big screens would be opening across the UK from Monday, May 17.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Everyman Cinema at the Lincoln Cornhill Quarter has also confirmed it will return on this date, with a full food and drink menu that includes new desserts and cocktails.
New screenings will include the much-delayed James Bond film No Time To Die, the latest instalment in the Fast & Furious franchise and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.
Savoy Grantham
Savoy Cinema in Grantham has listed its first screening for Tuesday, May 18, showing Exhibition on Screen Season Eight: Sunflowers, dedicated to one of Vincent van Gogh’s most iconic works.
This is also the case for Savoy in Boston, but all other films appear as “coming soon” on the website.
The Kinema in The Woods is coming back!
The Kinema In The Woods at Woodhall Spa is also coming back on May 17, offering screenings of animated favourites Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway and Raya And The Last Dragon, as well as the jaw-dropping thriller Godzilla vs Kong.
Numerous measures will be in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with perspex screens being installed at counters at Kinema.
As well as this, hand sanitiser stations will be available throughout the building and face coverings must be worn in the foyer and on the way to your seat.
The Venue can be used both as a cinema and a theatre for students and residents.
The Venue, located on campus at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln, has made no update regarding its return, suggesting it will stay closed on May 17.
There will be a limited capacity at cinemas when they return, though this could change come June 21, when all coronavirus restrictions, including social distancing, are due to be lifted.
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