Northamptonshire health boss wants tighter Covid rules

The legal requirement to wear a face covering ended on 19 July in England

Directors of public health have been asking the government to reintroduce face mask requirement and tighter self-isolation rules, a health boss said.

Lucy Wightman, Northamptonshire's director of public health, said she and her colleagues have been "lobbying hard" for the changes.

The county has some of the highest rates in England with Wellingborough having the second highest.

Ms Wightman said she had asked "for some powers to be reintroduced".

She said fellow directors of public health have told the government for "much stronger guidance over the testing of school-age children".

"A lot of the directors are feeling the pressure at the moment," she said.

Ms Wightman said she would also like to see the reintroduction of the requirement for face coverings indoors and for people to self-isolate if they are a household contact of someone who tests positive.

Lucy Wightman said stronger guidance would help curb infections

In England, the legal requirement to wear a face covering ended on 19 July, apart from in healthcare settings and care homes, unless the individual had an exemption.

When someone else in a household tests positive, people only have to self-isolate if they are over 18 and not fully-vaccinated, unless unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons.

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Ms Wightman believed that changes to those rules would "help stem the infection rate" in the parents and siblings of secondary school-age children.

She also said she was "concerned about grandparents" with an increase in case rates in the over-60s.

"We don't see at the moment is enough people taking the recommendations, which is all we are left with, to do some of the things that would help the situation," she added.

Only Trafford in Greater Manchester had a higher case rate than Wellingborough in the latest weekly figures

Covid case rates by Northamptonshire district (week to 10 October)

• Wellingborough, with 799.2 cases per 100,000 people, had a 27% week-on-week increase, the second highest rate in England

• Daventry had an 11% increase to 707.3 cases per 100,000 people, the sixth highest rate

• Kettering had a 20% drop in case week on week, but its rate of 696.6 cases per 100,000 people was the eighth highest

• East Northamptonshire had the 13th highest rate in England with 655.1 cases per 100,000 people, a 25% increase

• Northampton had a 2% increase to 584 cases per 100,000 people, the 38th highest.

• South Northamptonshire had a 53% week-on-week increase, one of the highest in England, to 532 cases per 100,000 people, the 62nd highest rate

• Corby, which previous had the highest rate in the country, had an 11% fall in cases to 530 cases per 100,000 people, the 64th highest rate

Source: UK government

Ms Wightman said rates in Northamptonshire were still "concerningly high".

She said it was "primarily being driven by secondary school-age groups" but the number of cases had begun to slow or reduce.

Ms Wightman said the 17 to 21-year-old age group "has seen a growth" in cases due the return of university students.