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image captionSurge vaccinations have been taking place in the Blackburn with Darwen area
Blackburn with Darwen s council leaders have urged the health secretary to rule out a local lockdown over concerns about Covid-19 Indian variant cases.
In a letter to Mr Hancock, council leader Mohammed Khan said lockdowns were not a sustainable solution .
It came as the borough and surrounding Lancashire areas all saw a rise in infection rates.
The rate in Blackburn with Darwen has risen to 145 cases per 100,000 people in the week leading up to 15 May, making it the second highest rate in England behind Bolton, where the rate stands at 319.9 cases per 100,000 people.
‘Danger of unrest’ if Bolton plunged into Indian variant lockdown
Local leaders point to success of Covid vaccination drives and say it would be unfair to impose new restrictions
19 May 2021 • 5:13pm
Bolton residents queue for Covid vaccinations at the Lancashire town s Essa Academy
Credit: Simon Townsley
Politicians have warned of unrest if local lockdowns are imposed on Bolton and other towns to deal with the Indian Covid variant.
Local leaders pointed to the success of increased vaccination drives and said it would be unfair to punish areas by imposing new restrictions on social mixing.
Yasmin Qureshi, the Labour MP for Bolton South East, told The Telegraph: People would be very angry and unhappy at the prospect of another lockdown here.