Coronavirus: Nottingham Covid spike could prompt tougher rules

There are concerns Nottingham could face tighter lockdown restrictions following a five-fold increase in its Covid-19 infection rate.

The city's seven-day rate for the week to 1 October was 283.9 per 100,000 people - up from 52 the previous week.

Alison Challenger, the city's director of public health, said it was unclear whether the figures had been skewed by a national delay in logging cases.

She said she would be discussing it with Public Health England later.

The latest figures give Nottingham one of the highest infection rates in the country.

Areas with a similarly high ranking - such as Newcastle and Preston - have been subject to additional restrictions.

But Ms Challenger said it was difficult to say whether that would be needed in Nottingham.

"We can't say at this stage. We have to work out what this data actually means," she said.

But she added the "numbers are now significant" and "this is very worrying for Nottingham".

The city authorities are now working with Public Health England to consider "what next steps need to be taken".

Ms Challenger added people in the city must "follow the guidance of maintaining social distance, wearing a face covering and washing hands".

An extra 586 cases were added to Nottingham's total for the week to 1 October once case logging delays came to light.

This made it one of the areas of England with the biggest relative difference in cases (163.6%). Without these extra cases, its infection rate would have been 107.8.

David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, said it was "a concern we have seen such a sharp rise in such a short period".

He said if extra restrictions were introduced by the government, he was "confident people would respond if that was what we needed to".

The council's deputy leader Sally Longford added she was, "very concerned that the restrictions currently in force are insufficient to stop the spread", in comments reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She said: "The beginning of the school term and the arrival of students has coincided with an increase in infections, particularly among young adults."

Prof Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University of Nottingham, said the latest figures for the city were "quite alarming" and he did not believe they could be explained away by logging delays.

He said: "Clearly the measures we have aren't keeping a lid on the virus."

The Department for Health and Social Care would not say whether tighter restrictions were being considered.

A spokesman said: "We work closely with local leaders and public health teams to inform decisions on local interventions, taking into account a range of factors.

"We discuss measures with local directors of public health and local authorities, constantly reviewing the evidence and we will take swift targeted action where necessary."

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