Northamptonshire is three weeks behind Liverpool as Covid-19 cases rise

Northamptonshire is about three weeks behind those areas of the country hardest hit by spikes in Covid-19 cases.

Merseyside and now Lancashire are currently the only areas in the top tier classed as "very high risk."

Liverpool's Director of Public Health revealed earlier this week that local NHS services were in danger of being overwhelmed and intensive care beds were already 90 per cent full.

Pubs, restaurants, gyms and casinos are all closed and household mixing is banned in very high risk areas.

Northamptonshire's health chief, Lucy Wightman, today told a county council Covid-19 Oversight Board meeting:

Mrs Wightman said: "The stark reality is that although figures in Northamptonshire are lower than the rate across England, that is mainly because of the significant spikes seen in the north.

"We are approximately three weeks behind that and that worries me deeply.

"We have been slow to follow but in last few days there has been a real tilt in the angle of our escalation.

"We need to balance all of these risks trying to keeping schools and businesses open but doing it in the safest way."

The number of patients being treated in Northamptonshire's two acute hospitals has more than doubled in the past couple of weeks with more patients in intensive care and requiring ventilators.

Mrs Wightman is expected to spell out a "call to arms" at today's weekly media briefing although the county appears unlikely to be elevted into the second level of the Government's three-tier system.

Northampton Borough Council leader Jonathan Nunn told the meeting: "If this trend continues we will inevitably end up in the higher level.

"Other places have sought to be put in other levels, that's not for us. The message we have to get across is that we need to unite to NOT to go up another level.

You can follow today's weekly media briefing as it happens on the Chronicle & Echo and Northants Telegraph websites from 3pm.