Whether they want lockdown to be extended or not, people in Sunderland agree the lifting of restrictions on June 21 should be delayed.
The much-anticipated date feels unrealistic for many living in an area which, until recently, had one of England's lowest infection rates.
But now researchers have identified 25 Covid hotspots on a UK watchlist, with Sunderland ranking within the top 10.
And government figures, published on Thursday, show Sunderland's infection rate has rocketed by 163.2% in the past week. It now has 41.8 confirmed cases per 100,000.
It has split opinion about whether or not lockdown should be extended.
Jordan Simons, 26, said: "I think we've been under restrictions for so long that we might as well wait until it's safe to lift restrictions if the government does have concerns.
"I'd rather wait a few more weeks until every adult has been vaccinated than ease restrictions while cases are rising and we all end up back in another full lockdown."
Andrew McCusker, Owner of Ronnie's Street Food, said: "I'm not surprised by a rise in cases because I was expecting it across the country with everything reopening.
"I think the Delta variant is going to postpone restrictions being lifted on June 21 which is disappointing as I just want things to get back to normal as soon as possible."
Andrew, who also owns a sweet van, purchased his Sunderland-based street food van in mid-February 2020 with a vision to pitch outside the Stadium of Light on matchdays and travel to cater for public and private events.
However, a week before he was ready to open his street food van, the first lockdown was imposed and the plans for his business were scrapped.
The 36-year-old, who has been based on Seaburn Beach Front since May 2020, is eager to pursue his plans once restrictions allow for larger gatherings.
And he hopes people will continue to follow government guidelines and socialise safely to avoid any further delays.
Andrew added: "I just want it all to be over with and for things to get back to normal so we just need to keep sticking to social distancing and I still think meeting outdoors is the best thing at the moment."
Sunderland ranked ninth in the top 25 UK Covid hotspot list which is generated weekly by the Zoe Covid Symptom Study, based on estimates of prevalence of Covid.
Figures are based on weekly reports from thousands of Zoe Covid Study app users in each area and the proportion of newly symptomatic users who have tested positive for Covid.
The weekly list of hotspots is dominated by places in northern England and Scotland, including four places in Greater Manchester in the top five - Bury, the city of Manchester, Rochdale and Trafford.
The city was one of the first to face local lockdown restrictions in the summer and Hailey Waters, 42, believes the Zoe Covid Symptom Study figures suggest "history is repeating itself".
She added: "It feels like we're just going round in circles and the way it's going we're probably going to end up back in a local lockdown."
However, Gurvinder Gill, owner of Castletown Premier convenience store, believes people won't listen if the government imposes another lockdown.
The 28-year-old said: "People just seem to be getting on with their lives now and it will probably be difficult to put people into lockdown again.
"A rise in cases is expected with people going out more, but I think everything is still under control."
Although Gurvinder feels infection rates are under control, he does believe the government will postpone lifting restrictions on June 21.
He added: "I don't think the government will stick to June 21 but I think people will just go about their life anyway and practically everything is open so I don't know how much of a difference delaying things will make."
Mahmut Kaya, owner of Kaya's Barber, in Pennywell, has faced a challenging year after his business was required to close during lockdown.
The 34-year-old, from Fulwell, said that business is just starting to return to normality and some clients are still cautious about visiting places such as barbershops.
He said: "Rising cases are concerning because the last year has been really bad and we can't go through that again. I really hope cases don't rise any more."
Mahmut believes that lockdown will be delayed and hopes that people will continue to stick to rules in an effort to keep infection rates under control.
