Once again the Covid-19 rules and restrictions in Greater Manchester are changing, with the introduction of the national lockdown on Thursday. On Saturday Boris Johnson confirmed the four week lockdown would begin this week, with it set to end on December 2nd. This time some of the messaging is different, with people being told they must ‘stay at home as much as possible’, and that they must work from home if they can.
Once the lockdown ends, different regions will then be placed back into the previous three tier system, depending on how many cases there are in that area. However, on Sunday morning Michael Gove admitted that the national lockdown could last longer than a month, if infection rates don’t fall enough.
Under the new rules there will be a ban on household mixing, and lots of businesses will be forced to close once again, like pubs, bars and restaurants.
All the places that will have to shut from Thursday:
All non-essential retail will have to close. This includes, but is not limited to: clothing stores
electronic stores
betting shops
travel agents
auction houses
tailors
vehicle showrooms
car washes
tobacco and vape shops
Indoor and outdoor leisure facilities must also close. This includes: bowling alleys leisure centres and gyms sports facilities including swimming pools soft play facilities climbing walls and climbing centres golf courses and driving ranges dance studios stables and riding centres archery and shooting ranges water and theme parks.
Entertainment venues will be shut. Including: theatres concert halls cinemas casinos museums and galleries adult gaming centres and arcades bingo halls bowling alleys concert halls zoos and other animal attractions botanical gardens
Personal care facilities, including: hair, beauty and nail salons tattoo parlours spas massage parlours body and skin piercing services non-medical acupuncture tanning salons
Non-essential retail will be able to stay open for delivery and click-and-collect, though.
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Food shops, supermarkets, garden centres and some other retailers providing essential goods and services will be able to remain open.
On top of that, while hospitality venues like restaurants, bars and pubs must close, they can still do takeaway and delivery, although takeaway alcohol will not be allowed.
Hotels, hostels and other accommodation is only allowed to open for people travelling for work purposes and for a limited number of other exemptions which will be set out this week.
Education facilities like nurseries, schools and universities will remain open as will playgrounds, and courts will still be open.
The North West Air Ambulance is appealing for help after the pandemic put a stop to its fundraising efforts.
The North West Air Ambulance (NWAA) service is entirely dependent on donations and has lost more than 20% of its income in the past year alone.
Since the first national lockdown, it is estimated the NWAA has lost £71,000 each month.
The care provided by the NWAA has become increasingly specialised across the past two decades, including even giving blood transfusions.
North West Air Ambulance Charity/Facebook
The charity serves eight million people in its three helicopters across the region. Now, it has launched an appeal to ensure the worst case scenario – where the life-saving fleet is grounded – is avoided.
Director of Income and Engagement at NWAA Charity, Sarah Naismith, said any donations would allow the charity to continue its crucial work.
She said: “Covid-19 has disrupted everyone’s lives, it’s threatened to grind down our friends in the NHS, and it’s placed financial and operational strain on our charity.
“The crew have continued their lifesaving work every day, supporting the NHS and working side by side with the ambulance service.
“However, the disruption to our fundraising revenues is significant and we don’t take sharing this news lightly. Without funding, we may not be able to continue to make a critical difference to patients like Jake.
“For 21 years, we have always been blown away by the generosity of our supporters, and we wouldn’t be here without them.
“With our work at greater risk than ever before, any donations will allow us to continue to reach and treat patients in need, and give them the best chance of survival. Help us help people across the North West.”
The latest appeal is backed by former patient Jake Cowen from Oldham, who says he owes the charity his life.
Following a fall cleaning windows with his father in Warrington in 2020, Jake suffered a seizure and went into cardiac arrest.
His condition was so bad, NWAA crews worked closely with the North West Ambulance Service to stabilise his condition. He was treated on route to Warrington General Hospital.
Jake’s family believe that without this care, he might not have survived.
Jake said: “I don’t remember much from the day, but from the impression it’s left on my mum and dad, I was clearly on the brink. We are all so grateful for NWAA and the ambulance service, especially as I’m now fit, well and back working with dad.
“Without the crew, I might not have survived. I owe them my life, and I urge others to support the charity right now, so that they can be there for those in need.”
For more information on the NWAA charity or to donate, click here.
New analysis shows a single shot of the vaccine can reduce the chance of needing hospital treatment by more than 80%.
New Public Health data based on those over 80 who have received the first jab show that the effects kicked in three to four weeks after the first vaccination.
The findings reiterate those found by Scottish health authorities last week which were hailed ‘spectacular’. Scientists have stressed that two doses are needed for best protection.
On Monday, health secretary Matt Hancock told a Downing Street briefing that the latest vaccine results were ‘very strong’.
THANK YOU to everyone involved in the vaccine roll-out.
The vaccines taskforce, the scientists, the pharmaceutical companies, the armed forces, the NHS, the volunteers & the British people.
Delighted that 94% of people have said they either have had the jab or will get the jab. pic.twitter.com/5VZ4KY5G3P
Hancock added: “They may also help to explain why the number of Covid admissions to intensive care units among people over 80 in the UK have dropped to single figures in the last couple of weeks.”
England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam also added that the data offered a glimpse of how the vaccine programme ‘is going to hopefully take us into a very different world in the next few month’.
He explained that it was ‘absolutely critical’ that second doses ‘are still part of the course of immunisation against Covid-19 and no less important’.
Prof Van-Tam stressed there was a ‘significant likelihood’ that a second dose of a vaccine would ‘mature your immune response, possibly make it broader and almost certainly make it longer than it would otherwise be in relation to a first dose only’.
12 weeks ago, Margaret Keenan received her first vaccine, becoming the world's first person to be vaccinated with a clinically approved vaccine.
Since then, over 20 MILLION people have been vaccinated, protecting our NHS, saving lives & helping us get back to normal. pic.twitter.com/bzzbzeicUV
The PHE data – that has not yet been peer reviewed – suggests that the Pfizer vaccine leads to an 83% reduction in deaths from Covid in those over 80.
It also reduces the risk of people over 70 developing any symptoms by around 60%, three weeks after the first dose.
Prof Van-Tam explained that the decision to give the AstraZeneca vaccine – which was rolled out a month after the Pfizer vaccine – to older people was ‘clearly vindicated’. It comes after some European nations refused to give it to over 65s as trials were mainly done on younger adults.
He added that other countries would be ‘very interested’ in the data coming out of the UK.
New data shows that both the @Pfizer_UK and @AstraZeneca vaccines are highly effective in reducing COVID-19 infections among people aged 70 years and over.
Watch Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van Tam explain 👇
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) March 1, 2021
Dr Mary Ramsay, Public Health England’s head of immunisation, said: “While there remains much more data to follow, this is encouraging and we are increasingly confident that vaccines are making a real difference.”
More evidence is needed to know how the vaccines protects against the Brazil variant (E484) that has been identified in the UK.
The government plans to offer 32 million people (nearly half the population) the first dose of the vaccine by the middle of April.
Currently, 30.4% of the UK population has received the first dose and 1.2% have received the second dose according to the latest Gov.uk data.
A mum from Oldham travelled more than 50 miles to go to the beach to celebrate her son’s birthday, adding that she didn’t think ‘there was any harm’ in it.
Laura McGhee drove the 56 miles from Oldham to Formby beach to celebrate her four-year-old son’s birthday.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, she said: “He’s only four so I’m not doing another birthday in lockdown.”
Pointing towards her kids she added: “We’ve done it with him, we’ve done it with him, and all he wanted to do was to come to the beach and I didn’t think there was any harm.
“We drove here, we’re not around anybody, we all go to school together, we all live together.
“So this is what we’ve done.”
Xwatt/Unsplash
Community Policing Superintendent Graeme Robson has since blasted those who made the journey to the beauty spot at the weekend.
He said: “This is totally unacceptable and shows a complete disregard for the government guidance, which is in place to protect not only ourselves but others around us.
“To flagrantly flout the rules in this way is not only reckless and irresponsible but can result in a substantial fine, as we have seen today.”
The senior officer added that it was essential for people to take heed of the advice to allow for infection rates to continue to fall.
'If it's not your local area, then don't bother going at all.'
Merseyside Police have issued a fresh appeal to people not to flout lockdown rules after they had to turn away more than a hundred cars from a local beauty spot.@NickDixonITV reports from Formby. pic.twitter.com/DdKGKS1S3a
Good Morning Britain correspondent Nick Dixon told viewers: “If you are going out, do a bit of research and make sure that you can socially distance when you get there.
“Regardless, if it’s not your local area then don’t bother going at all because you’re going to be breaking the rules.”
Police have increased their daily patrol which Supt Robson explains will continue over the coming weeks.
He added: “We will continue to work closely with our partners in Sefton, and across the rest of Merseyside, to ensure the safety of our communities, and will take enforcement action where people refuse to follow restrictions.
“Current guidance states that people must only travel for essential reasons, and you must remain local.”