Coronavirus: Oldham brings in tougher lockdown restrictions after spike in cases
Measures aimed at avoiding local lockdown as seen in Leicester
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Your support makes all the difference.Tougher lockdown restrictions have been imposed in Oldham after a spike in coronavirus cases.
It is hoped the new measures, announced on Tuesday and to last two weeks, will help stop the spread of the virus and avoid a local lockdown as seen in Leicester.
The borough’s 235,000 residents are being asked not to have social visitors to their home and to keep two metres apart from friends and family when seeing them outside.
Those who are “shielding” will also be asked to continue to shield for another two weeks from Friday, 31 July, and care homes will not relax the recent lifting of restrictions on visiting.
The move comes after the number of coronavirus cases in the borough increased over the last week.
Oldham has seen 119 cases in the seven days to 25 July, compared to just 26 in the week ending 17 July.
The local council said a significant proportion of recent positive cases involved multiple individuals within a household, pointing towards household spread as the issue, especially in large multigenerational households.
This is an issue that has been seen in other towns suffering elevated infection rates where there is a large Asian population.
About 20 per cent of Oldham’s population is of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage.
Councillor Arooj Shah, deputy leader of Oldham Council and cabinet member for Covid-19 recovery, said: “We’re urging residents to continue to take the risk of coronavirus seriously and to stick to the guidelines.
“The best way to avoid infection is to limit contact with others as much as possible and to stay home wherever you can, including working from home.
“Limit contact with other people and respect social distancing where you do go out, keeping at least two metres from those not in your household and avoid shaking hands or hugging.
“Where meeting outside you should meet in groups of no more than six people from different households.
“Gatherings larger than six should only take place if everyone is exclusively from two households or support bubbles.
“You should be doing everything possible to avoid taking part in gatherings of more than 30 people.
“Please also ensure you wear a mask where you cannot keep at least two metres from others, particularly in indoor public spaces when you are around people you do not usually meet. This includes, but is not limited to, shops and public transport.”
Katrina Stephens, director of public health for Oldham, urged anyone showing coronavirus symptoms to stay home for seven days and book a test online.
She added: “If we all do our bit and stick to the restrictions now, we can help stop the spread of coronavirus, and protect ourselves and our loved ones.”
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