Further nationwide restrictions have not been ruled out if coronavirus cases continue to soar two to three weeks after the imposition of Boris Johnson’s “rule of six”, government sources have confirmed, including the use of curfews in London to prevent late-night drinking.
As nearly 4,000 new cases were identified - the highest total since May - justice secretary Robert Buckland admitted the government faces "real challenges" with the testing system, suggesting schoolchildren and their parents would be the next testing priority after NHS and social care workers.
Meanwhile, the Royal Bolton Hospital has warned people to stay away from its emergency department unless they have a life-threatening illness or injury as surging coronavirus cases across the region begin to translate into rising hospital admissions, with the facility’s medical director suggesting failures in the testing scheme were responsible for the surge of people turning up to the hospital seeking tests.
And in the North East, officials said Matt Hancock would announce further restrictions to come into effect on Thursday in a bid to prevent another lockdown amid “rapidly rising” infections.
It came as Public Health England figures showed infection rates more than doubled in some of the hardest-hit regions in the week to 13 September, with Bolton’s rising to 204 per 100,000 people.
While tests were available in just one of the 10 worst-hit regions on Wednesday morning, health bosses in major cities pleaded with people not to show up at hospital A&E departments in an attempt to receive a test.
Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load:
.png?w=600)
