Not sure what happened with the North Tyneside travel rules? Here’s all you need to know UK News

If you are a little confused as to whether there is any Covid travel advice against travel to and from North Tyneside, you are definitely not alone.

It has been a day of mixed messages, uncertainty, anxiety and anger over whether the borough is now subject to stricter guidelines due to an outbreak of the Indian strain of Covid-19 – and if this effectively amounted to a new local lockdown. .

Public health bosses finally clarified the situation for North Tyneside earlier, and were soon followed by official confirmation from the government that the guidelines would be updated – so let’s review exactly what happened and where in are things.

Are there travel restrictions in and out of North Tyneside?

No there is not. North Tyneside’s director of public health spoke on Tuesday afternoon in an attempt to clear up the confusion.

Wendy Burke insisted that after meeting with government to sort out debacle there are “no restrictions on travel inside or outside North Tyneside” and “no local lockdowns” .

This is despite the fact that guidelines on the government website have been updated to advise against all, except non-essential, travel within or outside the region.

It was only a directive, not a law – but on Tuesday evening the government confirmed that the guidelines would be revised to “clarify” that people are free to travel – but with a warning for the public be careful.

There is no law – and now no directive – limiting travel to or from the borough.

What was the direction?

According to gov.uk, these travel tips applied to North Tyneside, Bedford, Blackburn and Darwen, Bolton, Burnley, Kirklees, Leicester and Hounslow – all regions have been affected by outbreaks of the fast-spreading Indian variant of Covid -19.

In the areas listed above, wherever possible, the guidelines were that people should try to:

• meet outdoors rather than indoors when possible;
• stay 2 meters away from people you don’t live with (unless you’ve formed a supportive bubble with them), this includes friends and family you don’t live with;
• avoid traveling in and out of affected areas unless it is essential, for example for work (if you cannot work from home) or studies;

People in these regions should also:

• Get tested for free twice a week and isolate yourself if you are positive;
• Continue to work from home if you can;
• Get vaccinated when offered and encourage others to do so too.

It is understood that the eight councils concerned have asked the government to remove these guidelines from its website, or at least to clarify them.

And the Department of Health and Social Affairs confirmed on Tuesday evening that it would “update the guidance for areas where the new COVID-19 variant is spreading to make it clearer that we are not imposing restrictions local ”.

A government spokesperson said: Rather, we are providing advice on additional precautions people can take to protect themselves and others in areas where the new variant is prevalent.

“This includes, where possible, trying to meet outside rather than inside, keeping 2 meters away from anyone you don’t live with and minimizing movement in and out of. The area. These are not new regulations, but are some of the ways that anyone can help master the variant in their region. “

When and where was this advice announced?

This is where the controversy began. It appears that the notice was posted on the government’s website on Friday, May 21. But it was not announced and local council and public health officials were not informed.

On Monday afternoon, Wendy Burke took part in a question-and-answer session on ChronicleLive’s Facebook page and said it was “certainly okay to visit the area” – clearly totally oblivious to the shift in focus.

Local officials in the northeast, and apparently in the other seven affected areas, only learned of the move after reporters spotted it and reports began to appear on Monday evening.

Was this another local lockdown?

Not really. Since the news broke, there were fears that this new focus would effectively amount to introducing a set of new local lockdowns on calm, but there was one key difference from the previous rules.

The travel advice, which is still in place by the government at the moment, is just that – advice. It has not been backed up by law, as other foreclosure rules have been.

If you break lockdown laws in England, the police can impose an immediate fine of £ 200, but you cannot be fined for ignoring directions issued for North Tyneside.

What was the reaction in the Northeast?

Ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s U-turn, North Tyneside Mayor-elect Norma Redfearn said the measures were “disproportionate” and said it was “essential that …