AS of today, Tuesday, residents of Warrington and the rest of England are under strict coronavirus restrictions as the third national lockdown begins.

Residents are being told once more to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

Leaving your household is only permitted for limited reasons such as shopping for necessities including food and medicine.

Shielding will resume for clinically extremely vulnerable residents, having been paused last August, while outdoor group sport can no longer take place.

Everyone should work from home unless it is impossible to do so.

What is the current Covid-19 situation in Warrington?

More than 1,000 cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Warrington in the space of a week.

The most recently available figures from Public Health England show that there were 1,095 positive tests in the town in the seven days leading up to New Year’s Eve.

This is a rate of 521.4 cases for every 100,000 residents – the 122nd highest rate in England.

By comparison, there were 591 infections in the seven-day period before Christmas Eve, which it the equivalent of 281.4 new cases per 100,000 people.

Warrington Guardian:

How is Warrington Hospital coping?

As of yesterday, Monday, the number of patients being cared for at the Lovely Lane site had surpassed the number recorded at the peak of the first wave of the virus.

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust figures showed that the hospital was caring for 140 patients that had contracted coronavirus, of which 17 were in intensive care.

This had risen compared with Friday, when patient numbers totalled 122, with 13 in ICU.

At the peak of the first wave on April 12, the hospital was caring for 124 Covid-19-positive inpatients, of which 18 were in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Seven coronavirus deaths were also recorded over the weekend, bringing the trust’s virus death toll to 319.

An additional 20 patients had been discharged from the hospital over the course of the weekend after recovering from Covid-19, bringing the total to 1,098.

Warrington Guardian:

Why has a national lockdown been imposed?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the lockdown just hours after a new record high number of Covid-19 cases for the UK was announced.

He said the measure was necessary because the new coronavirus variant is between 50 and 70 per cent more transmissible than the original.

He explained that there were nearly one-third more Covid-19 patients in NHS England hospitals over the past week – higher than in April 2020 peak – while there was a 20 per cent increase in deaths in the past week.

What did the Prime Minister say when announcing the lockdown?

“With most of the country already under extreme measures, it is clear that we need to do more together to bring this new variant under control,” he said.

“We must go into a national lockdown that is tough enough to contain this variant.

"I know how tough this is, I know how frustrated you are, and I know you have had more than enough Government guidance about defeating this.

"But now, more than ever, we must pull together."

The Prime Minister added that the country must now 'stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives', in an echo of the original lockdown message from last March.

Warrington Guardian:

What is the reaction from Warrington’s MPs?

Warrington South MP Andy Carter said: “With the spread of the new strain of the virus, we are returning to a national lockdown akin to March last year.

“Infections levels have risen significantly over the last seven days across Warrington, now standing at 408 per 100,000 people, and hospitalisations will undoubtedly follow in the coming weeks.

“These restrictions are to protect the NHS and save lives.

Only hours before the Prime Minister announced the lockdown, Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols said: “We need a national lockdown and further school closures are inevitable.

“The Government needs to rapidly scale up the vaccination deployment programme and ensure that contact tracing, sick pay, sector support and isolation support are fixed if we are to have any hope of returning to normality soon.

“Holding them to account on this is my key focus as your member of Parliament.”

Warrington Guardian:

What is the situation surrounding schools and education?

Schools and colleges in England are to be closed to most pupils until at least half term.

This means online learning will return for all pupils except vulnerable children and the children of key workers, who can continue to go to school.

School exams will not be going ahead as usual this summer, with Mr Johnson saying this would not be 'fair', but free school meal provision will be made available and nurseries will remain open.

"We have been doing everything in our power to keep schools open because we know how important each day is in education to children's life chances," Mr Johnson added.

"The problem is that schools may act as vectors for transmission, causing the virus to spread between households."

Early years settings such as nurseries and childminders are allowed to remain open and existing childcare bubbles can stay in place.

University students taking practical courses such as medicine or veterinary science should return as planned, but students on other courses should not return to university campuses if possible, with terms to start online.

Warrington Guardian:

What about shops and restaurants?

Non-essential shops will have to close.

Restaurants and other hospitality venues can continue delivery or takeaway services but will no longer be permitted to serve alcohol.

Outdoor gyms, tennis courts and golf courses must close and outdoor team sports will be prohibited.

But Premier League football and other elite sports with testing regimes and bubbles in place will be allowed to continue.