South Yorkshire leaders enter into talks about Tier 3 lockdown as Covid-19 infection rates fall

But this comes after the Covid-19 infection rate in Sheffield fell significantly over recent days, following on from an alarming spike at the end of September.

A spokesperson from Sheffield City Region confirmed that ‘discussions’ on the matter are ‘ongoing’.

In a speech to the House of Commons this afternoon, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Following the successful introduction of measures in Liverpool and Lancashire, talks are continuing this afternoon led by (the Communities Secretary) with Greater Manchester, and this week further discussions are planned with South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, the North East and Teesside.”

Mayor of Sheffield City Region Dan Jarvis today also confirmed that local leaders were in talks with 10 Downing Street.

He tweeted: “Today local leaders and I will continue talks with 10DowningStreet to make sure #COVID restrictions and proper support go hand in hand.

"We will do what's needed to protect lives and livelihoods in South #Yorkshire, and that means getting the right arrangements.”

Tier 3 restrictions would see a ban on meeting people outside of households and support bubbles in any situation.

It would also mean the closure of pubs and bars, unless they sell ‘substantial meals’.

Schools and universities would remain open. Places of worship would also be permitted to stay open, however mixing of hosueholds would be banned.

The talks about increased restrictions are going ahead in spite of the fact that Sheffield is among a number of cities in the UK where the rate of new cases of coronavirus has been in decline for a number of days.

The rates have been decreasing for several days, suggesting they are on a downward trend rather than a temporary dip.

Sheffield’s current rate is 396.7, based on the latest figures which were for the week to October 14. This is down from 500.3 in the seven days to October 7.

And the number of students in Sheffield who are becoming infected with coronavirus has more than halved, according to latest figures.

In the seven days up to October 18 the University of Sheffield had 191 cases. That compares with 437 cases in the seven days up to October 12.

And at Sheffield Hallam University there were 208 student cases reported in the seven days to October 18, down from 416 the week before.

A spokesperson for Sheffield Hallam University said: “While this reduction in cases is encouraging, we will remain vigilant and keep our approach under review to ensure that we keep our university community safe, whilst providing the best possible learning experience for students.

“All those students who have tested positive, and others in their household, are required to follow government guidelines and self-isolate.

“We are working closely with our partner accommodation providers to keep students safe, whilst providing a range of support for those self-isolating, including food packages, wellbeing support and access to medicine for those that need it.

"As a precautionary measure we have also temporarily increased the proportion of online teaching, which we will keep under review.”

Covid-19 case rates have started to fall in some of England’s biggest cities, with the sharpest increases now happening in towns and more suburban areas, latest figures suggest.

Barnsley was among the areas with the largest week-on-week increase in the latest seven-day rates, up from 225.2 to 348.8.

Others include Gedling, north-east of Nottingham (up from 216.3 to 385.9); Blackburn with Darwen (up from 357.4 to 482.3); and Blackpool (up from 220.9 to 326.3).

Overall the numbers suggest the geographical hotspots for Covid-19 in England may have tilted away from big cities and towards built-up areas that do not necessarily have densely-housed student populations – and that the virus is now being spread increasingly through community infections rather than circulating largely within student accommodation.