Coronavirus poll: should boris introduce regional lockdowns?

Cheshire is one of the areas in the north west of England which could see a second COVID-19 lockdown as the R number continues to rise. Government ministers want the reproductive rate of

infection, known as the R rate, under 1. This comes as the UK has recorded more than 40,000 deaths from COVID-19. The R figure is the number of people each infected person passes the virus

onto. Using data from the number of people dying, going to hospital or testing positive for the virus, allows Governments to understand the R rate. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the

Government would spot and “crack down on localised outbreaks when they come”. Mr Hancock said: “There is a challenge in the north-west of England to address, and to a lesser degree in the

south-west of England. “Both the north-west and the south-west are big areas themselves, and we need to get more granular and more focused and find the source of the local outbreak and then

deal with it." Ministers have warned they could move towards “local lockdowns” and use tracking and tracing if the spread increases again. A report by Public Health England and

Cambridge University estimated the ‘R’ rate has risen in all regions and could be above one in the North West and South West of the country. There are also calls for Scotland to impose

regional lockdowns, particularly due to the huge variations in the country of cases. SEE MORE: APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE GOES AWOL, SAYS JUDY FINNIGAN Chancellor Angela Merkel also implemented

localised lockdowns in Germany depending on the R infection rate. The federal states have taken on the responsibility of their own lockdowns depending on the R rate. The states which see 50

cases of COVI-19 for 100,000 people are asked to reimpose their social distancing measures.