The Government has said it is "not ruling out" the possibility of locking down individual towns and boroughs as coronavirus cases surge in parts of the North of England.
Asked this morning if local lockdowns were possible, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “There are a range of things we could do, we want to make sure we grip it.
“Obviously there’s surge testing, there’s surge tracing.
“If we have to do other things, then of course the public would want us to rule nothing out. We have always been clear we would be led by the data.
“At the moment, I can see nothing that dissuades me from thinking we will be able to go ahead on Monday and indeed on June 21, everywhere, but there may be things we have to do locally and we will not hesitate to do them if that is the advice we get.”
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock also told the BBC he cannot rule out regional lockdowns.
Mr Hancock said: "We have all seen last year what might be necessary but at the moment our goal is to tackle this through making sure that everyone who tests positive gets enhanced contact tracing and of course the vaccine programme is given a high level of protection across the board.”
Scientists are keeping a close eye on the spread of the variant across the UK, with new figures from Public Health England (PHE) on Thursday expected to show a big rise in cases.
With the new variant having this week been linked with coronavirus cases in the Sefton area, people living and working in the borough have some concerns over whether this will mean a local lockdown.
Measures are being taken in the borough to try to drive down the increase in cases.
The Leader of Sefton Council, Cllr Ian Maher, has today advised anyone who will be coming into contact with other people should get tested for coronavirus twice a week.
Two Formby schools, Formby High and Range High, have today told pupils and staff to keep wearing masks until at least the end of May, despite face coverings no longer being a requirement from Monday (May 17).
Bolton care homes have been asked not to follow England’s roadmap out of lockdown next week but to continue to restrict visitors, with the local authority citing concern over a possible “severe outbreak” of the Covid variant first detected in India.
In Blackburn, vaccines are now being offered to anyone aged 18 or over.
However the cases in both Bolton and Blackburn are considerably higher than in Sefton.
Bolton has some 165 cases per 100,000 people, with Blackburn's rate at 100, in the week ending May 8.
Sefton's rate for the same time period is 52 per 100,000, though some parts of Formby have much higher rates.
The worst affected UK borough is Erewash in Derbyshire, with a rate of 205 per 100,000.
While a decision has not yet been made on local lockdowns, the rate at which coronavirus are rising in Formby is a real concern.
The Prime Minister has said there are meetings happening today to consider what should be done, and that there is a "very wide range of scientific opinions about what could happen".
Sefton Council has been approached for comment.
