Hotline for people to report Covidiots breaking the rules is launched as infections continue to rise in Milton Keynes

The no-nonsense moves are in response to the continued increase in new coronavirus infections throughout the city, where the past two weeks has seen 45 new cases.

Seven were reported on Friday alone and then six more over the weekend . But it is thought the true number could be higher as many people may be carrying the virus with no symptoms, or have a mild form and not thought it necessary to get tested.

MK Council leader Pete Marland has repeated last week's warning that local lockdown measure could be enforced if MK's figures continue to rise.

"More people in the community now have Covid-19 than a few weeks ago," he said.

"But we are working hard to protect you," he said. "This week we've been out doing spot checks at pubs and other licensed premises to see how people are following the rules.

"The vast majority of people are following social distancing measures and I'd like to thank the overwhelming number of businesses that have have put a huge effort into keeping people safe and re-opening.

"But we do know that not everyone is working as hard as the majority to do the right thing. We have therefore set up a new single reporting system for people to get in touch about workplaces and other destinations where social distancing and other safety measures are not being taken seriously."

People can report such breaches via email, at [email protected] .

Pete said the hotline would be "widely advertised" and all the information give would be followed up.

"Information provided could help us understand how the virus is transmitted locally and identify outbreak sources or patterns."

People in their 20s and 30s are still making up the biggest percentage of new cases in MK.

"We are still seeing more people in their 20s and 30s testing positive," said Pete. "This is a worry, not just for their own health, but also because someone without obvious symptoms, or someone with mild symptoms, may pass the virus to many other people. This is how larger outbreaks begin and, as we've seen elsewhere, the situation can change very rapidly.

He added: "I need to be clear - the rise in the number of positive cases is NOT down to increased testing. Over the past few weeks the number of people getting tested has been broadly similar."

Worryingly, the infection rate in Milton Keynes is now higher than Bedford, which for weeks has been an area of national concern due to its high number of cases.

In the past two weeks, 3,779 people have been tested in Milton Keynes and of these 45 people have tested positive.

The number of cases is therefore 7.8 per 100,000 population in MK. For comparison, Luton's case rate is currently 26.8 per 100,000, Bedford's is 6.9 per 100,000 and Central Bedfordshire's is 7.6.

Pete said: "I really do understand that people want to get back to normal. However, we need to be very clear that social distancing and following Covid prevention rules are the new normal for the foreseeable future..".

"Don't be the person that infects somebody that might get very sick, or the person that causes an outbreak that forces a local lockdown. That will be far more damaging to out local economy than simply following the rules."

As of today (Monday), 951 people in Milton Keynes have tested positive since the start of the pandemic. This includes six new cases confirmed in the past 24 hours.