North East council leaders have met and agreed they will oppose the Government’s plans to place the region in Tier 3 restrictions, Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon has said.
The Government may be basing its decision on whether to escalate the danger level from Tier 2 to 3 on the infection rate among over-60s, he said, although officials were not told this was the case.
The leaders of Northumberland, Newcastle, South and North Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham held a meeting at 10am and agreed their opposition, stating that the current set of measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus were working and needed more time, Mr Gannon said.
He added: “There’s a bit of confusion about what the Government is looking at, we think it is based on the number of cases in over-60s.
“It would be helpful if they would clarify that. If we are forced into Tier 3, we would like to know the criteria so we would know the criteria to remove us (later).”
Mr Gannon said the support package proposed for the 100,000 people employed directly and indirectly in the North East’s hospitality sector would be “catastrophically disastrous”.
He said: “We would oppose Tier 3 on those grounds alone, but we think the current strategy is working.”
The current figure for infection rates in Gateshead was 238 per 100,000 up on Wednesday’s figure of 233 per 100,000.
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Mr Gannon said: “It’s going up, but slower than it was a week or two weeks ago, it’s not doubling every five days.
“The figures are turning down because we have the support of a significant proportion on the public.”
