Coronavirus: Stockton Council warns of further lockdown as rates rise

There were 849 new cases of coronavirus in Stockton in the week ending 15 November

A council is warning residents there could be a further local lockdown if coronavirus rates keep rising.

Stockton Council said there were 849 new cases in the borough in the seven days up until 15 November, up from 811 the previous week.

The national lockdown in England is due to end on 2 December.

Council leader Bob Cook said it was "almost inevitable" the borough would face further restrictions beyond then "if we don't get rates down".

The council said Stockton had a rate of 430.2 confirmed cases per 100,000 population, which is above the UK average of 250.5.

Mr Cook said: "If we don't get these rates down, and get them down quickly, I fear it's almost inevitable the government will put us into a further local lockdown as soon as the national lockdown ends.

"Nobody wants that to happen. It will be devastating for families and devastating for businesses.

"So, we've got less than 12 days to dig deep and follow the rules and get our infection rates down."

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He urged people to abide by the lockdown rules.

Mr Cook also said the council was expecting the first batch of 10,000 lateral flow tests - which can provide results within an hour - to "arrive early next week", followed by approximately 20,000 tests a week later.

"The region's directors of public health are finalising plans to deploy these tests once they arrive," he said.