The government is reportedly considering imposing a "circuit breaker" national lockdown as SAGE and local leaders claim local lockdowns aren't working.
Professor John Edmunds, who advises the government on coronavirus policy, urged the government to impose national measures now.
He told BBC Newsnight: "These local restrictions that have been put in place in much of the north of England really haven't been very effective.
"We need to take much more stringent measures, not just in the north of England, we need to do it countrywide, and bring the epidemic back under control."
He said the Government's current "light touch" measures are just "delaying the inevitable".
He said: "We will at some point put very stringent measures in place because we will have to when hospitals start to really fill up.
"Frankly, the better strategy is to put them in place now."
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson echoed Professor Edmunds' statement on Good Morning Britain today.
He said: "We’re seeing 2,500 new cases in the past week in Liverpool and yet we’re seeing restrictions that were placed on Manchester and Newcastle not working and the increase in infection rate going up.
"So it’s about common sense, it’s about getting the balance right, it’s about what you can do, what you should do. And how local lockdowns work, working with local leaders to get it right. There is a lack of consistency, a lack of clarity."
Cases continue to rise locally, with Knowsley and Liverpool having the two highest rates in the region, at 516 and 515 per 100,000 respectively.
To combat this rise SAGE and the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling have suggested a lockdown in October on a national scale, according to the Financial Times.
A member of SAGE told the FT: “As schools will be closed for one week at half-term, adding an extra week to that will have limited impact on education".
What would the national circuit breaker lockdown look like?
The lockdown would see a similar situation to the first lockdown back in March - reports Birmingham Live.
Pubs, hotels and restaurants would shut, with access restricted and people warned not to take public transport unless necessary.
Households would be banned from mixing and people would be encouraged to work from home.
Face covering rules would remain for the retail sector.
But unlike the first lockdown, the education sector would remain open with students still attending schools and universities.
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Tory minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News: "Obviously we keep these options under review and we don't rule anything out.
"We have done the national changes, the rule of six, wear a mask, stay apart, wash your hands.
"In a local situation, on the advice of the scientists, we are taking much more significant action."
"At the moment the advice is that the measures we have put in place are sufficient.
"If it turns out that we need to take further action, then obviously we will consider that."
