Burnley will remain under local lockdown for at least one more week

Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham has said while there is no change to the measures in place in Burnley, a new process has been agreed that will allow targeted interventions from next week.

This will include removing some local areas from the additional restrictions.

In the latest seven-day rolling figures, Burnley recorded 16 new cases in the seven days to August 17th – the equivalent of 18 per 100,000 people, down from 40.5 (36 cases) in the seven days to August 10th.

Mr Higginbotham said: "This morning I spoke with the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, about the local restrictions that we have in place across Burnley and the rest of East Lancashire.

"It is positive to see that our numbers are now moving in the right direction with the number of cases down and the rate per 100,000 coming down. Both of these are testament to the sacrifices being made by families from across our borough and the number of people who continue to come forward to get tested.

"It’s important though that we ensure this downward trend continues and isn’t just a one off. And so for the next week at least, there will not be a change to the measures in place across Burnley. This is on the advice of the local public health officials working with the Joint Biosecurity Centre.

"People may have seen that both Blackburn, parts of Pendle and Oldham will also see more restrictive measures come into force recognising the ongoing prevalence of the virus in those areas. This shows why it is so important for us to follow the rules locally.

Since these local measures were introduced I have also been lobbying the Secretary of State for local people to have more of a say and for us to target the restrictions further, allowing those parts of Burnley with no cases to return to the same position as the rest of the country and focusing our efforts on those areas where the virus still has a hold.

"Today the Secretary of State has agreed a new process that will allow me to work with the council and public health officials for the first time, as your voice, to drill into the local data and identify those areas where restrictions can be removed. I will be spending the weekend and early next week doing exactly that.

"I know that these local measures are difficult, particularly during summer holidays, but let me reassure you that I will continue to be your voice, calling for those lesser impacted areas to be removed from restrictions as soon as possible."