No change in local Covid-19 restrictions

The government has announced today (Friday 28 August) that the current Covid-19 restrictions will remain unchanged in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.

The restrictions will be relaxed in Bolton, Stockport and Trafford from 2 September.

Since 31 July, people in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale (including Milnrow and Littleborough) have not been permitted to mix with other households (apart from those in their support bubbles) in private homes or gardens, pubs, cafes, restaurants and other leisure or entertainment settings.

The continuation of restrictions means that venues including indoor and soft play areas, bowling alleys, skating rinks, indoor theatres, concerts and casinos are still not permitted to reopen and close contact services offered by beauty salons involving touching another person’s face - such as eyelash treatments, facials and eyebrow threading - will also remain off limits.

To help prevent the spread of coronavirus, residents of the borough of Rochdale should not:

• meet people you do not live with inside a private home or garden, except where you have formed a support bubble (or for other limited exemptions to be specified in law).
• visit someone else’s home or garden even if they live outside of the affected areas.
• socialise with people you do not live with in other indoor public venues - such as pubs, restaurants, cafes, shops, places of worship, community centres, leisure and entertainment venues, or visitor attractions. You may attend these venues with people you live with (or are in a support bubble with) but should avoid interaction with others.

The number of cases in Rochdale borough for the week ending 22 August stands at 35.5 per 100,000 people, down from 39.6 for the week ending 15 August. This means Rochdale currently has the third highest number of cases in Greater Manchester after Oldham with 56.9 and Manchester with 44.0 cases per 100,000.

 

 

The full list of areas that are still under these restrictions are:

Greater Manchester:

• Bury
• City of Manchester
• Oldham (+ additional measures)
• Rochdale
• Salford
• Tameside

Lancashire:

• Parts of Blackburn with Darwen
• Pendle
• Preston

West Yorkshire:

• Bradford
• Calderdale
• Kirklees

This means that people in these areas will continue to not be permitted to mix with other households (apart from those in their support bubble) within private homes or gardens. People are still able to meet others in groups up to 6 individuals, or 2 households, in outdoor public places.

The government has passed new laws to enforce the changes to meeting people in private homes and gardens. The police are able to take action against those that break these rules, including asking people to disperse and issuing fixed penalty notices (starting at £100 – halving to £50 if paid in the first 14 days – and doubling for subsequent offences).

Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock has signed new national regulations this week formalising penalties for people who repeatably do not wear face coverings on public transport, shops and other areas where it is mandatory.

Fines for not wearing face coverings start at £100, which can be reduced if paid within 14 days. Repeat offenders on public transport or in indoor settings will now have their fines doubled at each offence. After the first offence, there will be no discount. This means a second fine will amount to £200 and a third fine will be £400, up to a maximum value of £3,200.

Support Bubbles

Your household is only the people you live with. If you have formed a support bubble these can be treated as if they are members of your household.

In England, if you live by yourself or are a single parent with dependant children aged under 18 - in other words, if there is only one adult in your home - you have been able to expand your close support network so that it includes one other household of any size. This is called making a ‘support bubble’ and means you are able to have close contact with them as you could if they were members of your own household. You should not change or add to your support bubble once formed.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/135757/new-lockdown-restrictions-your-questions-answered

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There are three walk-through testing centres at Rochdale Town Hall, Heywood Civic Centre and Market Place car park in Middleton.

Residents can book a coronavirus test by calling the free phone number 0808 1964 100 to book an appointment or by visiting the NHS website.

Local information about coronavirus can be found at: 

• rochdale.gov.uk/coronavirus