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Daily Mirror

National

Joseph Wilkes

Coronavirus watchlist has 38 places added including all of London - see full list

A total of 38 new places have been added to the Government's coronavirus watchlist this week - including all 33 London boroughs.

And while it's bad news for the nation's capital, the north is harder hit still, with Leeds, Stockport, Wigan and Blackpool now escalated to the more serious 'areas of intervention'.

It is estimated that roughly 17m Brits are currently living under some manner of coronavirus restrictions.

New additions Wigan and Blackpool have jumped straight onto the areas of intervention list, as cases rise rapidly.

Every London borough is now an 'area of concern'.

Hartlepool , Middlesbrough , Stockton-on-Tees , Darlington , Redcar and Cleveland - Teesside - have been escalated to 'areas of enhanced support'.

There are now 92 places on the Government's watchlist, as four have been removed from last week.

Are you suffering under the restrictions? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk

London is back on the list. Pictured is a testing centre in north London on September 16 (AFP via Getty Images)

The new areas of enhanced support are Darlington; Redcar and Cleveland; Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham; Havering; Waltham Forest; Newham; Hounslow; Haringey; Hammersmith and Fulham; Tower Hamlets; Hillingdon; Enfield;, Southwark; Islington; Ealing; Camden; Kensington and Chelsea; Brent; Lewisham; Barnet; Greenwich; Lambeth; Kingston upon Thames; Wandsworth; Westminster; Merton; Sutton; Richmond upon Thames; City of London; Bromley; Bexley and Croydon.

If you live in London and don't see your area on the list above, remember that it works by boroughs - so Woolwich is included in the Greenwich borough, for example.

The four areas removed from the watchlist entirely are Stoke-on-Trent; Peterborough; Corby and Northampton .

You can see the full list of 92 at the bottom of this article.

Leeds faces tough restrictions (Adam Vaughan/REX/Shutterstock)

Several areas of England and Wales have been placed into local lockdowns where households mixing is banned.

Starting tomorrow, residents in Wigan , Stockport , Blackpool and Leeds will no longer be allowed to mix with people outside their household or bubble in private homes, including gardens. This will be enforceable by law.

Residents in these areas are being warned not to meet people outside their household or bubble in any setting, whether a bar, shop or leisure facility – indoors or outdoors.

Childcare bubbles will be able to form in areas of intervention to allow families to share caring responsibilities with another household, as long as they are "consistent", said a Public Health England statement. "This includes formal and informal childcare arrangements."

The restrictions on Wigan and Stockport are said the be the same as currently in place in Greater Manchester.

The London borough of Newham is an area of concern (AFP via Getty Images)

The additional restrictions in Bolton remain in place.

The addition of Blackpool as an area of intervention brings it in line with the rest of Lancashire.

Merseyside and parts of Cheshire remain subject to additional measures and restrictions.

Leeds will follow the restrictions currently in place in West Yorkshire - Calderdale , Kirklees and Bradford .

Cases are rising across the capital (AFP via Getty Images)

Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell and Wolverhampton remain as areas of intervention with restrictions on households mixing in private dwellings.

Leicester and Oadby and Wigston remain areas of intervention.

Blaby remains an area of enhanced support.

South Tyneside, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Sunderland, North Tyneside, Northumberland and County Durham remain as areas of intervention. Cases are rising, and discussions are ongoing with local leaders, said Public Health England.

Wigan has been brought in line with Greater Manchester (Getty Images)

In Public Health England's week 39 surveillance report - which is based on data from week 38 - between August 14 and September 20 - it states in summary: "Several surveillance indicators suggest that Covid-19 activity at a national level has continued to increase during week 38.

"The full spectrum of indicators confirms that cases are steadily rising.

"Case detections in England increased from 19,146 in week 37 to 21,271 in week 38.

"Case rates remain highest in North West and Yorkshire and Humber, with sharp rises noted in Merseyside and Tyneside.

Seaside holiday resort Blackpool jumps straight onto the areas of intervention list (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

"By age group, cases rates remain highest in the 20-29 year olds.

"Positivity rates have increased further across most age groups particularly in the 80+ year olds tested through Pillar 2 and those in the 20-29 years in Pillar 1.

"Positivity by regions remains highest in the North. At a local authority level, incidence remains highest in Bolton.

"Increases continued to be seen in hospital and ICU/HDU admission rates for confirmed Covid-19 at national level, particularly in the older age groups and in the North West for hospitalisations and London for ICU/HDU admissions by region."

Testing times in Stockport (AFP via Getty Images)

Officials are wrestling with a second wave of cases amid fears it could once again lead to a spike in deaths.

An England-wide curfew is now in effect from 10pm every night effectively banning socialising in public spaces.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We continue to see an acceleration of Covid-19 cases across the country, especially in the North West and the North East.

"Working alongside our scientific and public health experts and local leaders, we are prepared to take swift and decisive action to reduce transmission of the virus and protect communities.

“I recognise the burden and impact these additional measures have on our daily lives but we must act collectively and quickly to bring down infections.

“We all have a part to play and I urge everyone to isolate and get a test if you have symptoms, follow the advice of NHS Test and Trace, and always remember ‘hands, face, space’.”

Cases are rising in parts of the North East, and discussions are ongoing with local leaders about potential further measures, said Public Health England.

Professor Kevin Fenton, London regional director for Public Health England, said: "The placement of London on the watchlist as an area of concern is a reflection of the rising number of cases of Covid-19 being shown by a range of indicators.

"We are currently seeing much more widespread transmission in the city and being recognised as an area of concern is an important step in our efforts to control the virus. We are continuing to keep a watching brief on the situation and this new status will enable us to respond more rapidly and with additional measures should cases rise further and faster.

"As we continue our efforts, Londoners can do their bit to help by downloading the NHS Test and Trace App, adhering to government guidelines around the rule of six and remembering hands, face, space: wash your hands, wear a face covering and keep your distance."