No enhanced support in Sheffield as more areas across England go into local lockdown

The city was not upgraded to an area of ‘enhanced support’ or ‘intervention’, meaning it will be spared the local lockdown restrictions being imposed on swathes of the UK.

According to the latest weekly surveillance report, published each Friday by Public Health England and the Joint Biosecurity Centre, Sheffield’s infection rate has risen to 53.7 new cases per 100,000 people for the week ending on Sunday, September 13 – up from 28.5 the previous week.

Experts are recommending a 2 week national lockdown to coincide with October school holidays

New lockdown restrictions will come into force on Tuesday in Merseyside, Warrington, Halton, and Lancashire, excluding Blackpool and Greater Manchester.

Residents must not socialise with other people outside of their own households or support bubble in private homes and gardens, hospitality for food and drink will be restricted to table service only and late-night operating hours will be restricted, with leisure and entertainment venues including restaurants, pubs, and cinemas, required to close between 10pm and 5am.

New restrictions will be in place in Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle, Preston, Rossendale, Hyndburn, Burnley and South Ribble, West Lancashire, Chorley, Wyre, Fylde, Lancaster and Ribble Valley in Lancashire, and to Liverpool, Wirral, Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Halton and Warrington in Merseyside and Cheshire.

Second coronavirus death in two days recorded in South Yorkshire

In the Midlands, residents in Wolverhampton and Oadby & Wigston will be banned from socialising with people outside their own households or support bubbles in private homes and gardens from September 22.

In West Yorkshire, meanwhile, residents in all parts of Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale are also banned from socialising with other households or bubbles in private homes and gardens.

In Merseyside, Warrington, Halton, and Lancashire, apart from Blackpool and Greater Manchester, people are also advised to only use public transport for essential purposes, such as travelling to school or work, and to avoid attending amateur and semi-professional sporting events as spectators.

Sheffield community groups could be drafted in to help fight Covid-19

The new rules do not apply to Bolton or Greater Manchester where separate restrictions are already in place.

In Leicester, it was announced that individuals who are shielding will no longer need to do so from October 5.

An average of 6,000 people in England per day were estimated to be newly infected with Covid-19 between September 4 and 10, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics – up from 3,200 per day during the week ending September 5.

Across England, the weekly infection rate now stands at 33.8 new cases per 100,000.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We are seeing cases of coronavirus rise fast in Lancashire, Merseyside, West Yorkshire, Warrington, Halton and Wolverhampton.

“Local leaders in these areas have asked for stronger restrictions to be put in place to protect local people, and we are acting decisively to support them.

“I know these restrictions will make everyday life harder for many, but I know that residents will work together and respect the rules so we can reduce rates of transmission.

“I urge local people to isolate and get a test if you have symptoms, follow the advice of NHS Test and Trace, and always remember ‘hands, face, space’. By sticking to these steps, we will get through this together.”

These are all the places in England which are now ‘areas of intervention’, with extra restrictions in place: Bolton, Blackpool with Darwen, Oadby and Wigston, Hyndburn, Preston, Warrington, Tameside, Sunderland, Oldham, Birmingham, Bradford, Liverpool, Wirral, Burnley, Knowsley, St Helens, Bury, Salford, Leicester, South Tyneside, Rochdale, Manchester, Gateshead, Solihull, Sandwell, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Pendle, Halton, Kirklees, Wolverhampton, Calderdale, Rossendale, South Ribble, Sefton, North Tyneside, West Lancashire, County Durham, Trafford, Chorley, Wyre, Fylde, Northumberland, Lancaster, Ribble Valley.