The minister will decide on Wednesday whether TCDide could move down to Tier 2 in its Covid-19 warning level system.
Although the government is not expected to make a formal announcement by Thursday morning, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is meeting with UK experts and leaders on Wednesday morning.
At Teside, Tory MPs lobbied the health secretary for our constituency – a high-level local lockdown – that would allow pubs and restaurants to reopen.
However, Labor MPs believe that the rates of infection from the disease – which fell sharply towards the end of the last national lockout – are still very high.
And health experts are already worried that the Christmas ‘bubble’ – which eases restrictions on home visits within three homes – will hit new cases in the new year.
North Tees University Hospital in Stockton is already treating twice as many patients as at the time of the first outbreak of the epidemic, while offering non-invasive operations and care.
The Department of Health and Social Care has always maintained that it takes many factors into account when deciding on local lockdown restrictions – not just infection rates.
But with local infections stabilizing in some parts of the region, many are hoping the restrictions will be lifted.
And Boris Johnson will also discuss Christmas plans – following fears that a five-day sen ban could lead to a wave of new cases and deaths in the new year.
The Prime Minister has been invited by Labor leader Kir Starmer to convene an emergency meeting of the Cobra Committee to discuss any changes.
A spokesman for the prime minister confirmed that the plans were “always under review”, while two major health journals expressed concerns about the current plan.
Current picture
To give the most accurate picture of a local outbreak, a rate of 100,000 populations per infection is shown over a seven-day period.
Of course, there may be less than 100,000 people in the borough – so the statistics are standardized by dividing the number of days by each population and multiplying by 100,000.
Because it can take a few days to count and add positive test results, the infection rate is always based on data from two or three days in advance.
In the seven days to December 13, the rates were:
- Hartlepool – 221
- Middlesbrough – 204.3
- Stockton – 169.8
- Redcar and Cleveland – 139.3
In Redcar and Cleveland, rates have remained stable – down slightly from 140 cases per 100,000 on December 8.
In Hartpool, the rate dropped slightly but went back to 221 – exactly what it was on December 8.
Middlesbrough’s rate is up 193.6 from that date, and Stockton’s is 142.9.
How things looked when the lockdown ended
During November, when the second national lockout began, the rates of infection at Tside reached their highest level – although before covid testing became widely available, they were expected to be higher in March – each Between 400 and 500 cases per 100,000 in the borough. .
But as the weeks went by, those rates dropped sharply.
The days when TCDide left the national lockout and entered No. 3 were:
- Hartlepool – 242
- Middlesbrough – 173
- Stockton – 176.1
- Redcar and Cleveland – 129.20
Therefore, while the Tier 3 rules – which restrict visits to homes indoors or in private gardens, and ensure bars and restaurants – have not been responsible for the dramatic fall in infection rates over the fortnight or So they are in place, mainly rates are fixed.
What happens next
It is understood that a decision is being taken to convert any area to a new level this morning, and while this will not be officially confirmed on Wednesday, we Find out soon.
Any change is expected to begin on Saturday 19 December.
A review was carried out early in London, with the capital being moved to Tier 3 due to an increase in Covid cases.
