Birmingham lockdown: Birmingham lockdown rules tightened as Covid cases rise
Households in Birmingham have been banned from mixing in new lockdown measures announced following a spike in coronavirus cases.
The city now has the second highest rate of Covid-19 infection in England, behind Bolton.
The measures also cover neighbouring Sandwell and Solihull, affecting more than 1.6 million people in total.
A series of tougher measures have been imposed in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull after a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases.
From Tuesday, separate households in the three West Midlands council areas will not be able to mix. The restrictions will not affect schools, public transport or workplaces.
The move follows two days of discussions between the government and regional health and local authority leaders after the city’s seven-day infection rate rose to 78.2 cases per 100,000 of the population.
The restrictions will begin on Tuesday, it was announced at a regional meeting of council leaders.
West Midlands mayor Andy Street said: "The areas will now be escalated to an area of national intervention, with a ban on people socialising with people outside their own household."
The restrictions were not about "prevention of schools, workplaces, transport" but about mixing of households, he said.
The rate of coronavirus infection in Birmingham on 7 September was 85.4 per 100,000 people, up from 32 in the previous week.
Mr Street said residents were being advised to avoid household mixing before Tuesday's rules come into effect as it had been identified "as one of the drivers of transmission".
A government announcement on further measures, potentially affecting other areas of the country, would be made later, Mr Street added.
Under the new rules, people are banned from meeting others who are not in their household or support bubble, indoors or in private gardens.
Elsewhere in England on Friday, it was announced:
The government's latest R number is between 1 and 1.2 which means the epidemic is growing again.
A study of thousands of people in England found cases doubling every seven to eight days with a marked rise in the North and among young people.
Merseyside has been added to Public Health England's list as an "area of concern" after a rise in coronavirus cases, regional mayor Steve Rotheram has said.
Sunderland has also been added to the watchlist with a warning the city is "close" to a local lockdown.
