Fears North East could be 'in worse position' after lockdown

The region entered the second lockdown as the only part of England where the number of new cases had been flattening

The North East is set to emerge from lockdown in a "worse position" than before unless urgent action is taken to curb infections, leaders have warned.

The message has come from council bosses in the region who advised people not to let their "guard slip".

Newcastle, Sunderland and County Durham all recorded more than 1,000 cases in a week, while Gateshead had the highest rate of infection, figures show.

Cases at Newcastle's universities rose for the first time in over a month.

The region entered the second lockdown as the only part of England where the number of new cases had been flattening.

But the latest figures have shown infection rates on the rise in all seven local authority areas from Northumberland to County Durham.

Council bosses have blamed the increase on crowded town centres in the days before lockdown began, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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It is hoped that if rates decrease in the next two weeks the region will not be subjected to the strictest rules when the government's three tier system is reintroduced.

Gerry Taylor, Sunderland's director of public health - who recently took on the role after relocating to her native North East - reiterated the importance of staying at home and following the rules.

She said: "The news about the vaccine is really helpful and really hopeful - that's not in place yet, so I would really ask our communities to remember that at the moment we need to focus on following the guidance around reducing social interactions which is what will really help us to reduce the spread of the virus."

Meanwhile, 128 students from Newcastle and Northumbria universities tested positive for the virus in the past seven days.

The figure is a slight increase on the previous week's total of 115 cases but remains significantly lower than early October, when more than 1,600 new cases were recorded.