Balancing act over local lockdowns as R-rate fears grow – The Yorkshire Post says

Such a move – backed by metro mayors in the North-West – needs to be set against questions about enforcement and communication.

With the Government’s mixed messages already confusing some, public health guidance could become even more blurred.

Either way, national, regional and local leaders do need to be guided by the most up-to-date data, and there are two immediate steps that the Government can take as Boris Johnson looks at measures to boost the economy after apparently being taken aback by reports that three million people could be left out of work by the virus.

The first is the Department of Health publishes the R rate for Yorkshire – the benchmark which measures the risk to safety. This newspaper is led to believe that such information is available, but that health chiefs view this region and the North-East as one entity.

This is particularly unhelpful when the North- East stretches from the border of Scotland to the Peak District south of Sheffield. More local breakdowns will help leaders to put preventative measures in place where necessary without shutting down entire regions.

Second, the English regions have little or no representation when there are Cobra crisis meetings – only London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the leaders of the devolved nations, are permitted to attend. Again, this appears to be an anomaly when it will be metro mayors who will be tasked with leading the country’s economic recovery.

As such, the debate about local lockdowns should be viewed as a timely opportunity to improve the quality of liaison so all decisions are better informed in order to avoid a second “peak” in Covid-19.

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James Mitchinson

Editor