Liverpool city region will enter into a “tier 3” lockdown, city leaders have been told that this could last for up to six months, according to Sky News.
Restaurants, schools and universities will remain open, but all pubs, bars, gyms, casino’s and betting shops are expected to be closed under the new “rule of 3” lockdown measures.
It is also believed that Manchester will enter into tier 3 lockdown, but some MPs have warned of the “devastating impact” of closing venues.
Five MPs warned the government that there will be more illegal gatherings and that “jobs, livelihoods and businesses” will be damaged.
More “tier” lockdown restrictions are expected in other areas in the North of England which will affect millions of residents as infection cases are soaring which has had an impact on hospitals.
On Sunday the UK recorded 12,872 cases with a further 65 deaths, which is slight fall from the 15,166 cases recorded on Saturday.
England’s chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam warned on Sunday that England is ‘running into a headwind’ similar to first wave.
Van-Tam warned that hospitals face being overwhelmed, and more deaths are to come as “we are in the middles of a severe pandemic.”
In a statement released on Sunday, Professor Van-Tam said, “In our national fight against COVID-19, we are at a tipping point similar to where we were in March; but we can prevent history repeating itself if we all act now.
“Earlier in the year, we were fighting a semi-invisible disease, about which we had little knowledge, and it seeded in the community at great speed.
“Now we know where it is and how to tackle it – let’s grasp this opportunity and prevent history from repeating itself.”
He further warned, “Winter in the NHS is always a difficult period, and that is why in the first wave our strategy was, ‘contain, delay, research and mitigate’ to push the first wave into spring.
“This time it is different as we are now are going into the colder, darker winter months. We are in the middle of a severe pandemic and the seasons are against us.
“Basically, we are running into a headwind.”
He suggested there is “widespread transmission” across England, and not just the North as the R rate is still well above 1 in every NHS region.
He said, “If cases rise dramatically the NHS will need to focus more on dealing with the life threatening situations immediately in front of them; this can mean freeing up staff and space by postponing other non-urgent procedures and treatments.
“We need to help the NHS by keeping COVID-19 numbers low; and in turn the NHS will be there for us, our families and loved ones.
“By keeping our contacts low, we reduce the number of opportunities for the virus to spread.
“I know this is very hard, but it is an unfortunate scientific fact that the virus thrives on humans making social contact with one another.”
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