More military personnel could be deployed to fight Covid-19 in hotspots around the country, a Cabinet minister signalled today.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick offered additional help from the armed forces to civic leaders in Manchester.
Ministers are seeking their agreement for the area going into stringent Tier 3 restrictions and offering a multi-million-pound package of support for local councils and businesses.
“We also want to see what other things we can do together including through local contact tracing and using the military,” Mr Jenrick told BBC Breakfast.
He added: “Some parts of the country have asked for use of the military to support them with contact tracing, for example, and with putting in place infrastructure where it’s necessary for testing sites. That’s been done very successfully by the armed forces so if that is useful to an area then we will be able to put that in place and the armed forces are more than happy to assist us.”
As ministers and Manchester civic chiefs were today seeking to reach a deal:
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he would like to see more military personnel deployed to help ensure Londoners can easily get tested in coming months.
- A small team of military planners will work with Nottinghamshire County Council to step up its system of Covid home tests, with about 100 armed forces members taking up tasks such as collecting swab packages in Birmingham.
- Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford called his Cabinet together this morning amid expectations that he will announce a circuit-break lockdown over half-term lasting 17 days from Friday, affecting three million people, with pubs and restaurants closed and socialising banned. He called for greater financial support for the principality.
- Mr Jenrick rejected a national “circuit-break” lockdown in England given the large difference in infection rates around the country, saying: “The damage to the economy and to our broader health and wellbeing… would be very, very significant.” However, he added: “The Government’s approach is a localised, a proportionate and localised, approach for as long as there is such wide variations in infection.”
- Belgium closed bars and restaurants from today amid warnings of Covid “tsunami”. Italy imposed a midnight curfew on pubs and restaurants, with PM Giuseppe Conte saying it was needed “to avoid a new lockdown”.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham was today sticking to the demand for more Tier 3 financial support, particularly for the low paid. “Londoners and Mancunians need to stick together on this,” he told the Standard. “Everyone will more than likely end up in Tier 3 at some point in the winter.”
He added: “I support London’s call for support in Tier 2 but I hope people will understand that we have been in Tier 2 for three months without support.” Senior Tories, including 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady, have backed Mr Burnham in resisting Tier 3 for the region.
Liverpool City Region received £44 million as part of its Tier 3 measures, but Greater Manchester wants more, including a furlough scheme paying 80 per cent of wages for affected workers.
