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Young people told 'Don't kill Granny' as under-30s blamed for rise in Covid

Households mixing in pubs and homes has been blamed for a rise in cases in Preston, but several locals said pubs were still packed on Friday night despite new restrictions being announced just hours earlier - Eleanor Barlow/PA
Households mixing in pubs and homes has been blamed for a rise in cases in Preston, but several locals said pubs were still packed on Friday night despite new restrictions being announced just hours earlier - Eleanor Barlow/PA

Young people in Preston have been urged not to “kill granny” amid reports that almost half of new coronavirus cases in the city were among those aged 30 and younger.

New restrictions were put in place after households mixing in pubs and homes were blamed for a rise in cases in the Lancashire city.

But local residents have suggested that the restrictions will not be taken seriously, with pubs reported to be still busy on Friday night, despite the Government's intervention just hours earlier.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had announced that households in Preston were being banned from mixing indoors or in gardens from midnight.

The measure comes a week after similar restrictions were brought in for residents of Greater Manchester, parts of east Lancashire and West Yorkshire, as well as Leicester.

The rules will remain in place in those areas for at least another week.

Officials have now urged young people in particular, in Preston and other Covid-19 hot spots, to avoid putting elderly relatives in danger by congregating together at close quarters.

Adrian Phillips, chief executive of Preston City Council, said: "Our director of public health has said 'don't kill granny' to young people to try and focus the message".

Speaking on BBC Radio Four he said: "Young people are inevitably among the brave and the bold, they want to be adventurous and out and about. But we know that they have the virus, are more likely to at the moment, they often have less symptoms but they do take it back to their household."

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said that the tough new measures were introduced "at the request of the local area".

According to data from Public Health England, the rate of new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 population in Preston has jumped from 21.7 in the seven days to July 28 to 42.6 in the week up to August 4.

Lancashire's director of public health, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, also warned that the "two main reasons" for the rise in infections were people meeting others in their homes, and households coming together in venues such as pubs..

"These two are key behaviours we're trying to protect people from. Don't meet with members of other households in pubs and clubs," he said.

Reacting to the move Preston residents said the city’s pubs still appeared to be full hours after the announcement.

Charlene Gardner, 38, who visited Preston city centre on Saturday morning to buy school shoes for her two children, said: "The pubs around us were still 30 or 40 deep outside last night. It won't mean any changes for us because we haven't been seeing family anyway but I saw some reaction online last night and I think a lot of people aren't going to listen to it.

"I was happy the restrictions were brought in because I think we do need the police to get involved.”

Hannah Heaton, 28, (see picture below) said she thought the new restrictions were confusing and contradictory, adding: "It doesn't make sense that you can't go to houses but you can meet people outside or go to pubs.

"My grandparents rely on me to help them and now going to see them has been taken away from me.

"There's nothing I can do about it. I think certain people haven't been taking it seriously because they don't think it will affect them."

Hannah Heaton, 28, speaking in Preston after the area had lockdown restrictions imposed - Eleanor Barlow/PA
Hannah Heaton, 28, speaking in Preston after the area had lockdown restrictions imposed - Eleanor Barlow/PA

Venkata Reddy Nallamilli, 59, and wife Padma, 48, said they did not think people had been following social distancing advice since lockdown restrictions had been eased.

Mr Nallamilli said: "After lockdown people have not been maintaining social distancing or wearing masks.

"When I go to Sainsbury's I see people not wearing masks and the staff aren't enforcing it. Some people are not taking it seriously."

Preston's new restrictions mean residents cannot have other people in their homes and gardens, cannot visit others' homes or gardens, even if they are in an unaffected area, and are not permitted to mix with other households in indoor venues.

Social bubbles are exempt from the restrictions, and residents can meet in groups of up to six - or more than six if exclusively from two households - in outdoor areas such as parks and beer gardens.

Households can also visit indoor hospitality venues, as long as they do not mix with others.

Councils have demanded new powers to close down pubs and clubs that are fueling the spread of Covid-19 by breaching social distancing rules.

The Local Government Association (LGA) says there is evidence of pubs and clubs flouting the rules by cramming in drinkers and failing to record details of their customers.

The call follows an outbreak in Staffordshire when a pub failed to take customers' names - meaning they cannot be traced - after hundreds were crammed in and ten people caught the virus.

The LGA has urged the Government to rewrite the Licensing Act so that pubs or clubs could be closed down if they were judged to pose a risk to public health because of their lax approach to social distancing.