One neighbouring town to Milton Keynes goes into Tier Two lockdown as another 'teeters on the brink'

It has been announced today that nearby.Luton will go into full Tier Two alert on Sunday. Meanwhile, on the other side of MK, Northampton is under government scrutiny due to a surge in cases.

Luton will officially be moved into Tier-2 of the government's restrictions from midnight on Saturday.

Infections are continuing to rise across the town, with a "hugely worrying increase" in cases among the over 60s - who are much more vulnerable to the disease.

Admissions to the Luton and Dunstable Hospital are also rising

The new restrictions will include:

* In any indoor setting, whether at home or a public place, people must not meet with anyone they don’t live with (unless they are part of a support bubble or essential carers);

* If outdoors, whether in a garden or public outdoor space, people must not meet with people they don’t live within groups of more than six.

* People should also limit the number of journeys they make away from home;

* If people need to travel they should walk or cycle where possible, or plan ahead to avoid busy times and routes on public transport;

* People can continue to go to places of worship and facilities such as leisure centres and libraries are still open, where they are Covid-secure.

A joint announcement was issued today from leader of Luton Borough Council, Cllr Hazel Simmons, and Lucy Hubber, the council's interim director of public health.

They stated: "While Luton’s infection rates are still lower than some areas of the country, the current trajectory makes it clear that action is needed now in order to contain the spread of the virus. Reluctantly, due to the evidence, we have accepted the position of moving up to tier 2.

"We do not want to report week on week more deaths in the community before we take action and one of our conditions to the government is that we want regular reviews which will enable us to come out of high-alert if we bring our infections down.

"We are confident our communities will pull together like they always do and give us a great chance of moving back to medium-alert so we don’t get stuck with these restrictions which will impact on our businesses and communities.

Meanwhile, in Northampton, the situation was tense this week as the town waited to hear if the government would enforce added restrictions.

You can read the Citizen story here