Lockdown fears for Birmingham amid sharp rise in UK coronavirus cases – The Guardian

Fears of a larger coronavirus (COVID-19) wave 2.0 gains momentum in the UK after The Guardian cited Birmingham to become the latest from Britain to fall back to lockdown restrictions. The news quoted Birmingham’s director of public health, Dr. Justin Varney to confirm that the UK’s second city has seen a rise to 30 cases per 100,000 up from 22.4 the week before and 12 at the start of the month.

Key quotes

Police and officials in Birmingham have warned the public to act now to avert a city-wide lockdown as the number of people testing positive for coronavirus in England rose 27% in a week, hitting its highest level since mid-June.

Birmingham city council said the increase was “extremely concerning” and its leader, Ian Ward, urged the city to pull together to prevent a return to the “dark days” of lockdown. 

While it is not the country’s worst-hit area, concern over the rate of increase prompted West Midlands police to openly discuss the prospect of a city-wide lockdown. It called on residents to adhere to social distancing and avoid gatherings.

It comes as other areas of the country raised the alarm over stricter measures to control Covid-19 outbreaks, including Oldham in Lancashire.

FX implications

Following the news, GBP/USD fails to extend recovery moves from the sub-1.3100 region to 1.3200. The Cable currently seesaws around 1.3215/20 by the press time of early Friday morning in Asia.