Coronavirus: 'Avoid local lockdown' plea amid Normacot spike

More than 600 Normacot people have been tested at this community station and a stadium

Community chiefs are urging the public to help Stoke-on-Trent avoid local lockdown as Covid-19 cases in the city continue to rise.

A cluster of infections across six to eight streets in the Normacot area has driven up numbers, health chiefs said.

Of 12 new cases across the city on Friday, eight were recorded in Normacot.

Stoke-on-Trent South MP Jack Brereton said it was a worrying time for people in the area.

The city-wide case number on Friday stood at 1,634, the authority said, with 72 cases recorded for the seven days between 12 and 19 August.

According to the council, Normacot had seen 51 cases in the seven days - and 69 in total since 5 August.

Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones, the area's director of public health, said staff had been able to link the majority of cases to 15 or 16 households across six to eight streets.

Last weekend, a community testing station was set up in the borough in response.

Since then, the council said, more than 600 people from Normacot had been tested at the temporary site and at Stoke City FC's bet365 Stadium.

Council leader Abi Brown said while a continued rise in recorded cases correlated with increased testing, and was expected, the public was nevertheless advised to remain vigilant over transmission prevention.

"You can't look at the national news without another city-wide lockdown coming into force or being discussed.

"We don't want to be the next one - the next seven days is a critical time for the city so let's all play our part, protect our loved ones and avoid lockdown."

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