Covid-19: Essex 'must act now' to slow down rates, health chief warns

The Tendring district, which includes Walton-on-the-Naze, has seen its rate of Covid-19 cases treble in the past week

A director of public health has said a move to tighter social restrictions in Essex was vital in order to "slow down" accelerating Covid-19 case numbers.

Essex County Council has formally asked the government to raise its status in the three-tier alert system from Medium (lowest tier) to High (middle tier).

Dr Mike Gogarty said the area would have higher restrictions "for a much shorter time if we can get in early".

The BBC understands the government will announce its decision on Thursday.

The number of cases in Essex, which has 1.4 million inhabitants, has risen from just over 700 in the week to 2 October to just over 1,000 in the week to 9 October.

A move to the higher tier would mean households could not visit each other indoors.

Dr Gogarty told the BBC that a month ago, areas in the north of the UK' that are now seeing high numbers of cases, except Bolton, had lower levels of cases than Essex has now.

"That suggests if we do nothing, in four weeks time we will be as bad as those places," he said.

"We need to do something now to stop us ending up [like them] and that will protect the health of the people and it will protect our businesses as we'll be in those higher tiers of restrictions for a much shorter time if we can get in early and get out earlier."

He added that current measures would not be enough because those were "not a robust enough intervention to slow down and prevent the increases".

Dr Gogarty also said he was "100% supportive" of a two-week circuit break, likening it to the ITV game show The Chase, where contestants try to stop quiz champions reaching a goal by pushing them back down a ladder of questions.

"A two-week circuit break gives us a one-month respite or knock back from the virus. It's a bit like The Chase where you push [the chaser] back," he said.

"It would come back again with a vengeance but it would be an effective way of pushing it back a further month in the hope that we get closer towards vaccines."

Critics have voiced concerns about the county's move to another tier and warned it could have far-reaching implications.