Greater Manchester leaders express "concern" over communication of new restrictions
The Mayor of Greater Manchester and the leaders of the ten councils in the county have expressed "concerns" about how the government communicated the new lockdown measures.
A statement from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority said that leaders agreed with the new measures, but that details of any measures such of these should be published as soon as any announcement is made.
The new restrictions on two households meeting were announced by the Health Secretary on Twitter late last night, with full details not published until a few hours later.
Leaders in Greater Manchester have called for more clarity on the following parts of the new restrictions:
Outdoor areas in business: they say that hospitality businesses need clarity on their ability to continue to operate if they have outdoor areas.
Gatherings in public places: officials want to know if 30 or 6 people are allowed to gather in an outdoor space.
Early today Matt Hancock said that the new rules were "crystal clear".
Leaders are also asking for the government to extend shielding, and shielding support, in areas where new restrictions are in place.
From tomorrow shielding will be "paused" in England, but officials in Greater Manchester fear that this will cause "considerable uncertainty" and sends a mixed message.
The GMCA have also said that they were told that the restrictions wouldn't apply to gardens and are calling on the government to provide evidence as to why this has now changed.
Leaders also want workplace data to be included in the NHS Track and Trace system, saying that this would enable the identification of potential workplace hotspots.
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