These are the Derbyshire areas now in tier two of the Covid alert system

A section of Derbyshire has been put in extra local Covid-19 restrictions after a persistently-high number of cases.
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Glossopdale in the High Peak has been the county’s hotspot area for weeks, largely due to its vicinity to neighbouring Tameside and Greater Manchester, which have been under added local restrictions themselves for weeks.

In his speech to Parliament announcing the new three-tiered system, Prime Minster Boris Johnson announced that ‘a small area of High Peak’ would be placed under local restrictions.

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The new measures, forming part of tier two – high alert – in the new lockdown system, include a ban on households mixing indoors.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Government needed to act now to save lives. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesPrime Minister Boris Johnson said the Government needed to act now to save lives. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Government needed to act now to save lives. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

This joins current rule of six rules and new measures for most of England for pubs to close at 10pm.

Also part of the tier two restrictions is an emphasis to only travel if it is essential, that organised sport is only allowed outdoors and that spectators are not permitted at amateur or professional sporting events.

If people in the area plan to go on holiday, this should only be with the people they live with or that are in their support bubble.

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In Glossopdale, these new restrictions will start from Wednesday, October 14.

The Derbyshire areas included in the new restrictions, confirmed by Robert Largan, High Peak MP, are Charlesworth, Chisworth, Chunal, Crowden, Dinting, Gamesley, Glossop, Hadfield, Moorfield, Padfield, Shirebrook, Simmondley and Tintwistle.

The High Peak has been the hotspot within Derbyshire for weeks now and it’s rate of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people has risen to 160 as of the week October 2 to October 8.

This is more than double the national average of 79 and nearly triple the rate the High Peak had two weeks before (55 per 100,000).

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It has had a rate of infection of more than 100 cases per 100,000 people for more than a week and has been over the rate which saw Leicester plunged into lockdown in June (135) for several days.

The four key Glossopdale areas defined by Public Health England – based on populations of around 7,500 people – have been among the highest in Derbyshire, including Derby, for weeks.

Hadfield West & Gamesley is the local area with the most new Covid-19 cases between October 2 and October 8 with 38 – the only place to have 30 or above in the entire county and city.

Meanwhile, Hadfield East & Tintwistle had 22 new cases during the same week, with 19 in the Dinting, Simmondley & Charlesworth area and 19 in Glossop itself.

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The four areas account for nearly 100 new cases in the past week, up from 36 in the week September 18 to September 24.

Dean Wallace, Derbyshire County Council’s public health director, has frequently said that the higher rate of cases in Glossopdale is linked to travel in and out of Greater Manchester.

He also said that a number of the Covid-19 outbreak in Tameside Hospital in September was in part linked to a number of Glossopdale patients.

The Prime Minister said: “We must act to save lives and the evidence shows that in changing our behaviour, in restricting transmission between us, our actions are saving lives.

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“Left unchecked, each person with the virus will infect an average of between 2.7 and three others.

“Sage assess national that the R is between 1.2 and 1.5, so we are already supressing that R to well below its natural level which is why the virus is not spreading as quickly as it did in March.

“But we need to go further. In recent months we have worked with local leaders to counter local spikes with targeted restrictions.

“But this local approach has inevitably produced different sets of rules in different parts of the country that are now complex to understand and enforce.

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“Just as simplified our national rules with the rule of six, we will now simplify our local rules by introducing a new three tier system of local Covid alert levels for England, set at medium, high and very high.”

Mr Largan commented: “In order to exit tier two we will need to flatten the curve and then see case rates fall.

“The Government is looking at various factors, including the number of cases per 100,000 people, the percentage of positive tests and the number of people aged over 60 who have tested positive.

“Together we can beat this and get our area out of these measures.”

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Coun Anthony McKeown, leader of High Peak Borough Council, said: “To a certain extent, it was something we were expecting.“The numbers in Glossopdale have been higher for a little while than what was the case elsewhere in the High Peak.

“We had been looking at whether there were additional measures we could put in place to try and clampdown and prevent us needing to go to a more severe lockdown at some point.

“We have been doing extra communications work to say to people ‘if you don’t take it seriously we may end up in a full lockdown again, or something similar’.

“We are hoping that this combination and the additional publicity around the changes will help.

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“People need to take action and respond to the restrictions.

“I’d encourage people to follow the guidelines, make sure to wear a face mask and hopefully we can get the figures down and we will be able to move down to the lower level and people can live their lives more normally.”

Meanwhile, the majority of the more than 1,000 pupils at Glossopdale School have been told to self-isolate for 14 days after a further case of Covid-19 was confirmed.

One member of staff and one student have tested positive for the virus.

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All pupils in years seven to 11 are set to be out of school until Monday, November 2.

However, sixth form students and staff are not affected.

The school made face coverings in communal areas compulsory in mid-September.