Leeds will ‘rise through the tiers’ of Government Covid measures, says council chief

The authority’s most senior civil servant claimed that the predicted increase in cases was likely to see Leeds continue to “rise through the tiers” of the Government’s Covid-19 watchlist.

One of the city’s top virus experts added that the number of cases at St James’ Hospital was already on the increase, and advised individuals to avoid meeting people from other households indoors wherever possible.

The UK’s most senior public health officials and politicians are expected to meet today to discuss the current spread of the virus, before announcing any extra local measures they deem necessary on Friday.

Following their meeting last week, the Government announced it would provide Leeds with “enhanced support” to help combat the spread of the virus.

While nobody within the council is likely to know what further decisions will be made until the end of this week, the authority’s chief executive Tom Riordan warned the number of cases was continuing to rise.

He told a meeting of Leeds City Council’s executive board: “The latest numbers show we are in the late 80s per hundred thousand – we expect that to continue to rise, with the increasing trends we have seen across the country.

“We have been in different tiers of the Government watch-list and, unless something dramatic happens, I think we would expect to continue to rise up those tiers, but we will hear more about that tomorrow.

“The work done to keep the cases from turning into outbreaks is extremely intensive and important, and is making a real difference. The rates are going up but not as quickly as other parts of the country.

“Our numbers will continue to rise and we will hear more tomorrow about whether we will enter into further restrictions.”

Following the meeting, Dr Stephen Griffin, a viral oncologist based in the University of Leeds, said the spread of the virus was “worrying”, and that Government messaging needed to be simpler if further lockdown measures were imposed.

He said: “Leeds as a whole is not quite as badly off as places like Bradford or Dewsbury but parts of Leeds are.

“If you look at the map, Leeds has certainly got a lot bluer than it has been – it is a concern as it is a high population density.

“They look at the rate of increase in different areas and different demographics – I know that Jimmy’s (hospital) is getting more and more patients, and we need to prepare for more of those.

“My professional view is that everyone would be more happy with a more simplistic system that is easier to abide by, such as they have in New Zealand.

“The rate of increase is worrying – the longer you leave it to act, the harder it is to get the numbers back down again. Exponential spread requires tougher measures to get it back down, but that is a public health decision.”

Although he wouldn’t be drawn on what decisions he feels Leeds should be part of a further local lockdown, Dr Griffin said individuals need to avoid meeting others indoors.

“We need to reduce the mixing of households,” he said, “not just the number of people. We need to limit people’s interactions indoors – that includes hospitality venues.

“I would advise meeting people outdoors if possible – it is lower risks in terms of ventilation.

“But I think we need clearer messaging around this, and we need coordination around the country. We get contradictions where people don’t quite understand – work needs to be done on the message.”