It was announced this morning that Halton, Warrington and Merseyside will be subject to further regulations and guidance aimed at reducing the high rate of COVID-19 infection.
The new rules come into force from 0001 on Saturday 3rd October.
From that time, people must not meet anyone outside their household or bubble in any indoor setting. This builds on measures already in place restricting residents from mixing with other households in private homes or gardens. These regulations are enforceable by law and subject to fines.
The announcement was followed by a statement by the Metro Mayor, City Mayor, Council Leaders and MPs of the Liverpool City Region.
“As the elected leaders and MPs of the Liverpool City Region our first priority is to protect the health and wellbeing of the 1.6 million people that we represent.
“It’s absolutely right that we do everything we can to stop the spread of Coronavirus and keep as many people as safe as possible. Over the past few days, we have engaged in talks with minsters over their proposals for greater restrictions.
“The measures announced today are a step in the right direction but we need to understand whether they are enough to really address the escalating cases in our city region.
“Therefore, we are requesting that the government provide us with the scientific evidence so we can understand if these measures will be sufficient to prevent the spread of the virus.
“In addition, we are also aware that, without appropriate financial support from the government, restrictions will damage businesses and industries – in many cases irretrievably – when in normal times they are perfectly viable.
“Our region is an international destination, and our visitor economy is worth almost £5bn to the city region economy every year and employs over 50,000 people. Over recent years, our hospitality and retail industries have been vibrant and growing. But we have already seen some businesses go under in the face of COVID and, without Government assistance over the past few months, many more would have followed.
“These new restrictions mean that we will also need an immediate substantial additional package of economic support from the Government urgently and, so far, it is not clear that this is being provided.
“We will now seek further urgent talks with the Government on these measures, any further measures, and what their response is to our request for a financial support package.”
Steve Rotheram Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region
Cllr Rob Polhill Leader of Halton Council
Joe Anderson OBE Mayor of Liverpool
Cllr Graham Morgan Leader of Knowsley Council
Cllr Ian Maher Leader of Sefton Council
Cllr David Baines Leader of St Helens Council
Cllr Janette Williamson Leader of Wirral Council
Conor McGinn MP
Alison McGovern MP
Ian Byrne MP
Angela Eagle MP
Mick Whitley MP
Paula Barker MP
Kim Johnson MP
Bill Esterson MP
Margaret Greenwood MP
Dan Carden MP
Marie Rimmer MP
Mike Amesbury MP
Maria Eagle MP
George Howarth MP
