Covid: North Tyneside guidance causing 'unnecessary panic', MP says

Government guidance urging people not to travel into and out of North Tyneside unless essential has caused "unnecessary panic", an MP has said.

The advice, issued due to the spread of the Indian variant of Covid in the borough, was published online on Friday but no announcement was made.

North Tyneside MP Mary Glindon called on the government to explain the situation "properly".

The government has denied introducing lockdown measures by stealth.

The guidance advises people in Indian variant hotspots to:

"It causes unnecessary panic and concern when people do not have the facts," Labour MP Ms Glindon told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle, she said North Tyneside Council officials had been "fully co-operative with the government since the discovery of the Indian variant in North Tyneside - then this little clanger's dropped into the works and nobody has been made aware".

She added it was unclear what the guidance meant for people working in neighbouring areas and warned it had caused confusion ahead of the bank holiday weekend.

"It has to be explained properly. People need to know where they stand," she said.

Wendy Burke, the council's director of public health, said there had been "no indication... of any additional restrictions" when the government announced that the borough would be subject to enhanced testing and vaccinations on Wednesday.

The publication of the new guidance on Friday had "not been accompanied by any communication to the local authority, local residents or businesses", her statement said.

On Monday - when she was unaware of the guidance - Ms Burke told a Facebook question-and-answer session with ChronicleLive it was "certainly OK to visit the area" as long as people exercised caution and followed safety advice.

North Tyneside mayor Norma Redfearn said consistent information was needed and she was working to get "clarity" about the "confused messages".

She said: "It is essential the government explain what this advice means in practice."

Ms Redfearn also described the government's instructions as "disproportionate" for the area.

Victoria Bones, who runs The Blind Pig pub and Filthy Bones restaurant in Tynemouth, said she had done her "utmost" to keep staff and customers safe when re-opening but was now "stuck in limbo".

She said customers had been ringing about their weekend bookings but she could not offer them any answers as to whether they should come or not.

"It's absolutely disgusting," she said.

"We still have not been told anything officially, we are just finding out on the news. We either need to be given a green light or told to close."

Ms Bones said the pandemic had cost her between £35,000 and £40,000 in overheads, "never mind lost earnings".

By Robert England, BBC data journalist

Although the number of cases in North Tyneside is still relatively low, they are rising, with a 60% increase in the last week.

In the latest data, the area's infection rate was double the national average for England, at about 52 cases per 100,000 people.

This doesn't look as serious when compared with the large rises seen in other parts of the country, such as Bolton, but with pockets of the B.1.617.2 variant found across the borough, public health officials seem to be treating any noticeable increase in cases as a real concern.

According to the latest variant analysis, of the three samples tested in North Tyneside, two were B.1.617.2, though it's difficult to draw too many conclusions from this as not all cases are examined for variants.

In terms of the vaccine, the rollout seems to be moving at pace in the area, with an estimated 90% of the over-40s being given a first jab already.

But rising cases do appear to be spread out across the age groups, and although higher rates are being seen among younger people, who although less likely to be vaccinated, are less likely to become seriously ill from coronavirus - cases among those in their late 30s and early 40s also appear to be seeing a small increase as well.

The North East Chamber of Commerce called for "urgent clarity" for businesses.

Chief executive James Ramsbotham described it as "completely unacceptable to have such poor communications about something so important for people's health and livelihoods".

One North Tyneside resident, Di, told BBC Radio 5 Live the "lack of communication" had left her "absolutely spitting" and "so angry" after she learned of the new measures via Twitter.

"The only people I have seen over the last year are my sister and my mother.

"I've arranged to see a friend today who I haven't seen for well over a year. He's in Northumberland, I'm in North Tyneside and we've arranged to meet in Newcastle and I don't know what to do - I'm torn."

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, claimed the government "doesn't want to admit that these are local lockdowns because of how unpopular they were last time".

"As a result they are not communicating to people what they need to do," she added.

The government said it had taken "swift and decisive action" to slow the spread of the variant through surge testing and bringing forward second doses of the vaccine.

It added it was now providing "additional guidance for those living in affected areas... to encourage people to take an extra cautious approach when meeting others or travelling".

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