Schools are struggling to cope with a lack of Covid-19 tests for pupils and staff as the situation is becoming “increasingly out of control”, a teaching union leader has warned. Hospitality for food and drink will be restricted to table service only. Sir Van said: “I’m not telling people what to do or think, the Government is doing a great job of that already. Bromsgrove has a rate of 97.1 while the rate has nearly tripled in a week in Lichfield, to 71.6, affter 75 cases in seven days. A 15-year-old boy has admitted terrorism offences. More than half of the total Covid-19 infections have been recorded in just three countries - the US, India and Brazil - according to the US university’s tally. The household ban is now in force in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull. Our priority is the wellbeing of our staff and patients. New lockdown rules in Birmingham from Wednesday. Schools have been open for just over a week now and - sniffles allowing - kids are in their classrooms. The UK has recorded the highest one-day rise in coronavirus cases since May in the past 24 hours, government figures show. Hospitality and leisure venues in England are from today, September 18, legally required to enforce the rule of 6 or face a fine of up to £4,000. The strict new measures across … Latest figures show new infections continuing to rise in the region - with some suggesting the figures would be worse were it not for problems accessing tests. I had to act incredibly fast. The mobile testing site is believed to have been on the car park yesterday - September 14 - but it vanished overnight. There will be no change to lockdown conditions in the region. Visit our live updates here. A fresh Birmingham lockdown has been announced today as the city is hit by a swathe of new restrictions - but support bubbles are still intact. It really hurts me and I know how much it hurts them as well. People can use a Government postcode checker to verify which council they are under to see if the lockdown rules apply. The city, alongside Sandwell and Solihull, is set for new regulations on the back of Covid-19. “As soon as you start to get that with six, seven, eight teachers, it becomes unsustainable to be able to run things.”. BIRMINGHAM will become the latest area to go into lockdown after being monitored on the government's coronavirus "watch list". Designated businesses and organisations, including hospitality, close contact services and leisure venues, will also be legally required to log details of customers, visitors and staff for NHS Test and Trace and from Thursday 24 September they will be required to display official NHS QR code posters under law ahead of the NHS COVID-19 app being rolled out nationally next week. Meanwhile, the Government is set to review lockdown measures up and down the country today - which could bring another change in the region. Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, has called on the Government to prioritise the education sector for the allocation of tests in light of widespread challenges. This blog has now come to an end. Birmingham has today been hit by new lockdown restrictions as rules come into effect amid a rising tide of Covid-19 cases - with a BAN on households meeting in Birmingham, … The teenager, from Birmingham, was accused of possessing information "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism". “It is in everybody’s hands to ensure we do not have further measures.”. Residents across Birmingham have pledged not to snitch on their neighbours for flouting the new rule of six. “Schools are left in a position of either leaving close contacts of the infected person in school while they wait for guidance, or making a public health call themselves and deciding on who to send home,” the letter says. “There is mounting concern about whether we have got the virus sufficiently under control. The union leader told Nick Gibb that pupils who have been sent home with symptoms are “facing uncertainty” about when or where they will be able to access a test. We cannot afford to be too slow. All patients are currently in the process of being contacted and offered an alternative date. “I want to make clear too that Labour will continue to act in the national interest. Mr Hancock told BBC Breakfast the latest data showed that hospital admissions are now doubling every eight days, amid warnings that deaths will rise in the coming weeks. More than 10 million people are now living under some form of extra coronavirus restrictions after a host of local lockdowns were imposed in England. “Nobody wants to see tighter measures introduced but public health has to be the number one priority, so it’s up to individuals, businesses and other organisations to follow the rules and keep people safe.”. “My guess is drop tomorrow [Feb 10], check orders to make sure none go to scalpers then take payments following days.”. Coronavirus chaos remains in the West Midlands after a new era of lockdown began in a large part of it. All had known underlying health conditions and their families have been informed. These are the few reasons people can enter your home. Incredibly, Birminghanm’s rate of 150 infections per 100,000 people doesn’t get it into the top 50 in the country. Residents must not socialise with other people outside of their own households or support bubble in private homes and gardens. A tiny proportion of positive cases is having a “profound” impact as schools send home entire year groups or classes, council chiefs revealed today. His remarks came as peers debated regulations implemented earlier this year to require the wearing of face coverings in shops and other places in England. The rule of six people from meeting up in large groups, and people have been urged to call the police where social distancing is not followed. Solihull needs to get “back to basics” in order to reverse a worrying rise in Covid-19 cases and avoid further restrictions, the council’s deputy leader has said. In Wales, 23% of those surveyed said they had never been asked and in Scotland the figure was 12%. The latest news from the UK and around the world on the COVID-19 pandemic - … Birmingham has become the latest city to be hit with new draconian lockdown rules after the number of coronavirus patients being admitted to hospitals in the city doubled in a week. Preston, Pendle and Blackburn with Darwen, which already had restrictions in place, will be included under the stricter measures. As we increase our contact with others, there are more opportunities for the virus to spread and care home residents are some of the most vulnerable in our community. That’s the question posed by Black Country MP John Spellar (Lab), who warns that we can’t keep on shutting down society and the economy. Waste collection update - 9 February 2021 Here’a a rundown on what the Prime Minister had to say on the challenges facing the country. Chief executive Alex Cruz said the coronavirus pandemic has “devastated our business” and the carrier is “still fighting for our own survival”. John Edmunds, a professor and member of SAGE, the body advising the government on controlling the pandemic, appeared on BBC’s Newsnight last night. For the latest on coronavirus, Boris Johnson’s address and new restrictions. Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull face lockdown restrictions to try and abate a rising tide of infections - as other parts of the UK, including the North East, join the vast parts of the country with such measures in place. Coronavirus news - live: UK R rate now above 1 and infections doubling each week in England, as Birmingham bans household mixing. Operations at Cannock Chase Hospital have been suspended until September 28. The figures refer to people in private households. Next are Walsall, Sandwell and Solihull, which are all above the 100 mark. Three organisations representing school leaders and governors have also implored Boris Johnson to “take charge” of tackling the delays in obtaining Covid-19 tests to ensure schools remain open. £5,000 grant for Birmingham’s hackney carriage drivers to prepare for the Clean Air Zone . Some 3,991 people tested positive, bringing the total number of current UK cases to 378,219. “Therefore, we are left to rely on principles of common sense, taste and preference, and those are not the principles upon which we can run an effective epidemiological response to this horrible disease. Residents should also take holidays only with people in their own household or support bubble. Meanwhile, the household ban is in force in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull as of yesterday (September 15). It comes as local authorities in the north-west of England await Government announcements on stricter lockdown measures following spikes in the number of infections. Updates and reaction to increased lockdown measures in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull. They also made clear for the first time that they will NOT provide free tests for people who are told by their school, employer or travel company that a negative test is a condition of work, school attendance or travel. “So we’re watching vigilantly, but we can see the number of cases accelerating, and we’re prepared to do what it takes both to protect lives and to protect livelihoods, and of course, both are so important. It comes after cases started to rise since the easing of lockdown restrictions back in June. We visited one such street this afternoon to check out how people were getting on. Key Events. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said keeping schools open would become “unsustainable” if issues with testing capacity were not fixed. Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said it was a “precautionary measure”. The council has followed in the steps of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Sandwell - where non-essential visiting has also been stopped. The boss of British Airways told MPs people are “still afraid of travelling” as he defended the airline’s decision to cut up to 12,000 jobs. This is a live blog and updates about the Birmingham lockdown and the latest on coronavirus will follow. This live blog has now ended. The rate of infection has more than doubled in … New coronavirus safety measures announced by the Government came into effect across the country on September 14. “Where this isn’t possible, steps must be put in place to ensure regular contact can continue between residents and their loved ones.”. In a letter to the schools minister, Dr Roach said the union had heard of approximately 600 pupils being told to self-isolate in one local authority area and he said the “number is growing”. This is what's happening here in Birmingham, UK. In his closing remarks, the minister acknowledged the issue of masks is “heavily, heavily contested”. Only a third of UK adults visiting indoor places such as restaurants or hairdressers are being routinely asked to provide personal details for Test and Trace purposes, new data has shown. Have your say in our survey: People desperate for a Covid test have told of their fury after finally securing a booking - only to be sent to a deserted car park. There has been a push for some parts of the West Midlands, such as Wolverhampton, to follow others into lockdown. Mr Rosser said “crisis meetings” between the senior team were taking place and they were “on top of this problem”. I cannot ignore the situation. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been clear for months that it was an absolute priority to open schools again. Wolverhampton has been added to the local lockdown alongside Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell, the Government has announced. Latest news and updates from the West Midlands; It comes a week after statistics showed the rate of infection had more than doubled. Wolverhampton has been getting a lot of attention and could be set for new restrictions after cases soared. Today we will hear more about how local restrictions are going in Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell, and what the people of Wolverhampton can expect as they become the latest under local lockdown. She was speaking on the day that local lockdown measures - which restrict mixing between households - came into force across the borough, Birmingham and Sandwell. “That is the one that will beat the virus and it is the one advocated by the CMO (chief medical officer), and the CMOs from all the nations of Britain, and it is our primary front in our battle against Covid. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said headteachers were being forced to decide that the “bubble has to stay at home” if a pupil or teacher in a year group had shown Covid-19 symptoms and could not get a test to prove they were negative. The Prime Minister added: “On Monday we brought in the measures that we did, the ‘rule of six’, to really try and restrict what people are doing and to bring in a new buffer - and to make it absolutely clear, the ‘rule of six’: indoors six maximum, six outdoors maximum. They can, however, wear a plain white vest or black v-neck jumper. The United States leads the country count with at least 6,675,560 reported cases, followed by India with at least 5,214,677 and Brazil at 4,455,386, the numbers showed. Preston is in third place, where the rate has risen from 93.6 to 134.8, with 193 new cases. And despite a range of safety measures hoping to reduce the chance of them contracting and spreading Covid-19 – some parents are unsure whether they can send their kids back even with a minor illness. She said: “We are keen to see further detail from the Government’s adult social care winter plan but it is positive to see concrete steps already to prevent the devastating loss of life we saw earlier this year, such as the appointment of a new chief nurse for adult social care - we need to see this go one step further by ensuring nursing staff are allocated to individual care homes throughout the pandemic. Published 9th February 2021. The region is ready to gear up its Nightingale hospital. People across Merseyside, Lancashire and Warrington will also be banned from mixing with other families and face late-night socialising curfews, under tougher restrictions. The new restrictions came into force in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull on Tuesday and we have a collective responsibility to play our part in ensuring they start to drive cases down. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has urged Boris Johnson to convene a meeting of the Government’s emergency committee Cobra following a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. This is the highest rate in England and it is up slightly from 186.4 in the seven days to September 7. “The first and by far the most important level is reliance on hygiene and social distancing - the ‘hands, face, space’ protocol. The number of people in hospital suffering Covid-19 is 901, up by 141 in 24 hours. Birmingham is being put in a local lockdown with a ban on households mixing after a worrying spike in coronavirus cases.. New restrictions will come into effect on Tuesday in Birmingham … Another 20 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported, as of 9am on Wednesday. “I deeply, deeply regret that way too many loyal and hardworking colleagues of mine are having to leave our business, and I understand why MPs are concerned. Manchester tops the list, at 561.6, while Knowsley and Liverpool are both above 500.534.3 (806), 335.4 (506). New restrictions are in place in Birmingham to curb a concerning rise in new coronavirus infections. Are we going to keep on imposing lockdowns if coronavirus is with us for years to come? “And similarly from the headteacher’s point of view, if my Year 4 teacher today shows symptoms, will he or she be in school tomorrow, will they be here for the next 14 days? That said, we are hearing all the time about people classes having to be closed down due to coronavirus. Hyndburn has the second highest rate, up from 80.2 to 144.4 with 117 new cases. “As CEO of British Airways, I have to take responsibility. 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We get no official commentary on this, but this Tweeter thinks he has spotted something... Gamers on Twitter are now predicting tomorrow to be the big day for GAME. ... believes Birmingham will have a local lockdown … The survey of 1,130 adults across the UK, conducted between September 9-13, asked people how often they had been asked for their details when visiting places outside their homes in the past seven days. Newcastle upon Tyne and Nottingham, which has seen an incredible increase, are both above 400. Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on the region with testing problems harming schools and workplaces. We will support whatever measures the Government take to protect the NHS and save lives.”. You can input a postcode to find out how many cases there are. The letter - from the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), school leaders’ union NAHT and the National Governance Association (NGA) - warns heads are in an “impossible situation”. On Tuesday, he warned the localised measures - which he argued were “not working” - were merely “delaying the inevitable.”. Councillor Stephen Craddock, Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing, said: I know this is hugely painful for families and I genuinely empathise – I have only been able to visit my parents a couple of times since March. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) asked about the efforts to get the steep increase under control and put a number of residents’ questions about the new rules to the cabinet member. Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, has called on the Government to prioritise the education sector for the allocation of tests in light of the challenges. In a statement. BirminghamLive is being contacted about testing nightmares all the time, while schoolchildren are being sent home as a result of Covid-19 on a regular basis.