Doncaster health chief's 'cause for concern' after town put into 'high alert' Covid lockdown

From Wednesday, the town will be classified as a Tier 2 authority – with households banned from mixing indoors and at hospitality venues.

Dr Rupert Suckling, Director of Public Health in Doncaster, said the measures were necessary because of a rapidly rising number of coronavirus cases in Doncaster.

He said: “I can confirm that due to our current rates of infection, Doncaster, along with the rest of South Yorkshire, has been placed into the high level of restrictions.

“This means that new guidance will be in place shortly to try and ensure we slow the spread of the virus as much as possible locally.”

The new rules are:

Households should no longer mix indoors; either at home or at any hospitality venues.

Different households may meet outdoors (including in gardens) but must continue to stick to the 'Rule of 6'.

Where possible people should aim to reduce the number of journeys they make.

10pm curfews will remain in place for all pubs and restaurants.

He added: “I know you may well have further questions on this; we're awaiting further details ourselves for what this means and we will of course share information as soon as we get it over the next few days.

“Over recent weeks we have seen a significant rise in cases across the borough, tenfold compared to our Summer figures, which is of course a real cause for concern.

“The majority of these cases are in younger people (15-34) but we must now do all that we can to stop the virus spreading into older and more vulnerable groups; hopefully these new restrictions will help us to do that.

“I will continue to closely monitor the situation as always on a daily basis to see if there is any additional actions required and of course will continue to provide you with regular local updates.

“We must now follow this new guidance and do all we can to break the chain of infection and lower our local infection rate. Remember, if you have symptoms you should self-isolate and you should organise for a test. If you are a contact of a positive case you must self-isolate.

“And of course it remains vital that we continue doing the basics, which are still the best way to stop the spread; wash your hands frequently, wear face coverings where required and keep a distance of at least 2 metres.

“Let's do it for Doncaster.”