David Wood blog: Rising coronavirus infection rates sees calls for Bristol and Plymouth to be moved into Tier 2
The coronavirus infection rates in two of the West Country's largest cities are rising and it is leading to calls to move them into the second tier of the Government's Covid Alert system.
BRISTOL
The weekly infection rate in Bristol has now moved up to 264.6 per 100,000 people - well above the England average of 201.1 per 100,000.
The city has seen a significant number of cases amongst students at the city's two universities, however there are now concerns that the virus is spreading within the community and not just in the student population.
Public Health England has confirmed it is looking at the transmission in the city and whether more action should be taken.
As I understand it a regular meeting between Government and local health teams took place on Friday, 23 October, and the decision was made to leave Bristol in the first tier for now.
The hope is that extra enforcement could make the difference, especially as the majority of the new cases are centred around the city centre.
However it is worth noting that other parts of the country that were added into the second tier last week have rates below Bristol.
Covid tiers: - What are the differences between each alert level in England?
Medium (Tier 1) - Rule of six applies indoors and outdoors. Pubs and restaurants close at 10pm.
High (Tier 2) - Households must not mix indoors in any setting including pubs and restaurants. Rule of six applies outdoors
Very high (Tier 3) - Households must not mix indoors, or in private gardens. Rule of six applies in outdoor spaces including parks. Pubs and bars which don't serve meals will be closed
PLYMOUTH
Plymouth's case rate is considerably lower than Bristol's (129.3 per 100,000), however, the speed of its increase in the past week has worried officials.
It also looks like the new cases are spread out around the city, rather than in a handful of wards, which will add to concern.
Some local politicians have told me they believe the move up a tier will come soon, although there is concern about how much support the city's hospitality businesses would receive from the Government and whether it would be enough to help.
Should parts of the West Country be moved up a tier then the main change in the rules is people aren't allowed inside with people from other households in social settings. Similar rules have been in place for many parts of the North of England for a number of weeks.