Speaking following the Government announcement of increased restrictions across the region, Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said:

“Since Merseyside was identified last week as an ‘area of concern’, there has been a growing expectation that increased restrictions would be put in place for our region.

“We now know that these new restrictions will come in to force from Tuesday next week.

“With Covid-19 cases still increasing rapidly, we must do everything we can to curb rising infection rates and protect our families, communities and businesses. That means that these increased restrictions are now a regrettable but necessary step.

“I know that this will be difficult for us all, but we simply cannot afford to see the progress we have made over the last few months derailed and for our communities and businesses to suffer more than they already have.

“Please be absolutely clear: We are already seeing hospital admissions increase, putting pressure on our NHS and we can’t allow this to reach the crisis levels we saw during national lockdown.

“We must all stop, think and do the right thing, or we will risk seeing infection rates spiral out of control, more tragic and avoidable deaths and a more drastic and damaging lockdown across our region. There is still time for us to stop this from happening.

“Our city region is renowned for being kind, friendly and community-spirited. We now need to stick to those principles, respect these new restrictions and make sure that we look out for one another.”