World News – GB – Why Nottingham is only level two, despite having the highest rate

The head of Nottingham City Council explained why Nottingham has not been subjected to the most severe restrictions, despite the highest number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the UK

Starting Wednesday, the city will switch to level two restrictions, even though COVID rates in the week to October 9 were 834 per 100,000 population – more than 200 more than Liverpool, which has been placed in level three

Mansfield, which has rates of 805 cases per 100,000, and Bassetlaw, which has rates of 86, will face the same restrictions as the city, as the measures apply the same to the city as in the county

Councilor David Mellen is the head of Nottingham City Council and represents the Dales for Work

He said he welcomed the restrictions, which apply to the city and county, but warned that additional financial support would be needed from the government to avoid a further economic « dive »

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Speaking after the level 2 restrictions were announced today (Monday, October 12), he said: “I understand there are two reasons why the city was not placed in level 3

« The first is that our hospitals are not currently at this level There is a lot of preparation going on, but they are not complete

« The second is that the cases have not spread in large numbers to the elderly population Most of our cases now involve younger people

« Obviously there is a good chance that they (the younger ones) will contract COVID in a less severe way, not that it is a reason to be complacent because there are young people who get it very badly, but obviously it’s older or have underlying health issues « 

Asked about moving the city to level three if the city’s situation worsens, he said: “We haven’t spoken to ministers, but we’ve spoken to officials who have said they would probably talk to us sooner rather than later on what it might look like

« Certainly in Liverpool there have been negotiations about this, so Liverpool city council and businesses are going to get money from the government, and we would push a lot for this to happen to businesses in Nottingham

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« We believe that in our current high alert level, we should seek government support for business, because if people can only go out with members of their household, business will suffer and potentially them. jobs will be lost, and we don’t want our economy to plunge further, or our unemployment numbers to rise, so we call on the government to consider more support for businesses in our region, as will other high alert levels. have also requested »

When asked if he thinks the measures announced today go far enough, he said: « I think if people stick to these new restrictions, we have a good chance of containing the virus

« Because it’s not just about not mixing with other households, it’s about not using public transport unless you absolutely need to, to get to the school or to work

« It’s really thanks to the people who are signing up. We were very worried this weekend that people would see it as a last chance to do whatever they wanted before the restrictions arrived

« I am happy to say that in many ways people have bought into the advice that we are asking people to follow

Nottingham lockdown, Nottingham